Soldier Candy
by ShizukaRakugaki44
Summary: Sugar Marmalade is an average girl whose world is turned upside down when a game of Candyland causes horrible monsters to be released into the human world. Then a talking chocolate bunny named Hershey gives Sugar the Lollypop Wand, which has the power to transform her into the Champion of Sweet Justice, Soldier Candy. A parody of Sailor Moon with a little bit of Tokyo Mew Mew.
1. Chapter 1: A Hero is Born Part 1

Chapter 1: A Hero is born from the Magic Chocolate Bunny Part 1!

"Sugar Marmalade, why on earth are you still sleeping?"

"W-What?" Sugar muttered as she woke up in her pink canopy bed.

"The bus will arrive here any minute if you don't get going."

No sooner had her mother spoken, Sugar leaped out of bed, ran into the bathroom, brushed her teeth, combed her hair, and got dressed in her casual yellow and green striped shirt, tan pants, brown sneakers, and tied two braids to the back of her head. She quickly got her backpack and scooter for the ride home and ran out the door without grabbing any food. Fortunately, she arrived just before the school bus was about to depart, and was able to sit with her two best friends Jill and Jane, who were ironically sisters as they had the same long black hair and violet eyes.

"Wow, Sugar, you made it," Jill said, making room for Sugar as the bus started to move.

"We were betting a dollar over whether you would make it or not, and I won!" Jane said with a smug face as Jill reluctantly opened her purse.

"It may seem funny to you guys, but not for me," Sugar said, looking down.

"Oh, cheer up, Sugar! We're only just teasing you," Jane said, reaching her arm around Jill and patting Sugar on the back. "You're more grumpy than usual today. Did you wake up on the wrong side of the bed?"

"Apart from not eating any food, I had a really weird dream, but I'm too embarrassed to talk about it."

"We promise we won't laugh, right Jill?" Jane said, turning to her sister.

"Yeah, we're all ears," Jill responded.

"All right, so it begins with me standing on a ledge, overlooking a valley filled with bright colors and different kinds of candies. But then, a dark smoke rises from a sinister-looking castle made of licorice and covers the sky. Then I'm suddenly standing outside of another castle made out of cake and watch horrible-looking monsters come out of a gingerbread forest and attack candy cane-striped guards. Then, I see a group of girls wearing skimpy military uniforms fly from a balcony on the second floor and go into a strange wormhole that appears in the sky, while someone wearing a pink cape follows them."

"And then?"

"My mom woke me up."

"Sounds like someone's sweet tooth is acting up again," Jane said.

"But I haven't eaten any sweets for three months."

"Are you serious? I thought you loved candy more than anything else."

"Hey, isn't that Miloe Simpleton?" Jill said, pointing to a boy who was running next to the bus outside the window.

He was a tall but well-built kid wearing white shorts and a polo with short blond hair, blue eyes, and nicely tanned skin. Sugar leaned over Jane and Jill to watch him, and felt her heart beat heavily against her chest, followed by her growling stomach. Even though they only talked briefly, she instantly fell in love with him. But when she asked him what kind of girls he liked, he said, 'I like girls who are healthy and strong'. So she decided to not eat sweets ever again, even though they were a constant addiction since she was a little girl.

The school bus pulled up to the parking lot next to the high school she attended, which was simply known as Sunny Town High School with tennis being it's main sport and an academic program that rivaled that of private schools. But for Sugar, it was just a place to be tortured by notorious teachers and have little time to interact with her friends for eight hours. It wasn't that she thought learning was bad or anything, she just couldn't meet her teacher's expectations no matter how hard she tried.

Reluctantly, she said goodbye to her friends and made her way into the building for her first class of the day, which was Math. Not a great class to start with early in the morning. The teacher, Ms. Hamstring, regarded Sugar with a dubious eye as she handed back everyone's tests from last week. When Sugar got hers back, she saw several red marks throughout the test and a big 'D' on the top left corner next to her name. This left Sugar in a depressed state-of-mind throughout the day, even at lunch break when she told her friends the bad news.

"So I got a 'D' on my Math test, and my mom said she would ground me if she saw another bad score on a test," Sugar said, sighing. "I guess we'll have to postpone our fun night until my grades improve."

Jane twirled the straw in her milk carton and said, "Why can't you just lie to your mom or delay telling it to her until after our fun night?"

"I can't do that! That would make things worse."

"Hey! Why don't we come over to your house anyway, but claim that we're doing a study group?" Jill exclaimed.

"That's a great idea, Jill, let's do it!" Jane said, high-fiving Jill.

Sugar didn't buy it. "But what if we get caught?"

"We won't get caught," Jane said. "Trust me."

"If it'll help, we'll do quiet things instead of watching movies and listening to music," Jill added.

"Like what?" Sugar asked.

"Um, board games, card games, stuff like that."

"Well, I still have Candyland."

"No way! We used to play that game a lot when we were kids!" Jane exclaimed. "Let's play that for sure when we get to your house."

"I don't see why you're so enthusiastic to play Candyland, but it works."

Later, after a long scooter ride back home, her mother immediately asked her about the test. Sugar tried to sound casual as she told her mom the score, and just as she predicted, her mother got really mad and grounded her. As Sugar was being sent to her room, the doorbell rang, and her mother answered it.

"Hi, Mrs. Marmalade!" Jane said, standing next to Jill outside the door. "We're here for a study group with Sugar."

"A study group? I thought you usually came over for 'fun night', which is tonight," Sugar's mother realized.

"We usually do, but she told us about the test at school, so we decided to do a study group instead to help Sugar prepare for the next test," Jill added.

"That's very considerate of you, but be sure to leave by eleven at the latest," her mother said, letting them in.

They all went up to Sugar's room, and closed the door so that her mother wouldn't hear them. As Jane and Jill were setting their backpacks down, the front door opened again. Sugar knew it was her father, returning from a long day's work at the office.

"All right, now let's play Candyland!" Jane cried.

So Sugar went to her closet, and fount it all the way in the back. The box had collected a lot of dust over the years, but the inside was as clean as it was before. After assigning the gingerbread man-shaped markers and mixing the cards, the girls felt like they were reliving their childhoods as they played across the boards multicolored roads in the direction of the cake-shaped Candy Castle. But just as memories easily fade, their interest in the game dwindled with every turn.

"This isn't as fun as I remembered," Jane said, folding her arms. "It's so simple that I'm actually getting bored."

"But we're so close to reaching the goal," Sugar said, drawing a card.

"Yeah, can't you hold on just a little longer?" Jill asked.

"Well, all right," Jane sighed.

Sugar looked at her card, and reluctantly moved her marker back to the space that was parallel with the Licorice Castle. As she firmly placed it on the spot, she heard a man laughing maniacally. She thought it was her dad, but when she glanced at the board, she saw the Lord Licorice character's mouth move in synch to the laughter she was hearing, and jumped back in fright.

"What's wrong, Sugar?" Jill asked, reaching for a card from the deck.

"I thought I saw something on the board move," Sugar muttered.

"Something apart from our markers?" Jane asked, and then she looked suspiciously at the board. "Hey, doesn't the board seem brighter than usual?"

"You're right," Jill said, unintentionally dropping the card.

But Sugar wasn't listening to them. All she could hear was the laughter, and it was getting louder as the light from the board became stronger to where it even out shined the overhead lamp. Then, the board itself seemed to ripple as strange and monstrous things emerged from it. While this was occurring, Sugar bent over and covered her ears from the horrible noises the monsters made as they flew into the air and went through the walls like ghosts. The other two couldn't see the monsters, but were suddenly thrown backward when beams of light shot from the board and hit them in the chests. Sugar wanted to scream, but she knew her parents would hear her if she did, and discover that they weren't studying at all.

But when she thought she couldn't hold it in anymore, the monsters were gone, and the board stopped glowing. The laughter went away too, so Sugar unplugged her ears and turned to see her friends lying on the floor. She crawled over to them and tried to wake them up, but they didn't stir. Thinking they had been severely injured, Sugar was about to open the door to get her parents when the board started to glow again. However, the thing that emerged this time wasn't a monster. It was a life-sized three-dimensional chocolate bunny with a small red heart on its forehead.

End of Chapter 1


	2. Chapter 2: A Hero is Born Part 2

Chapter 2: A Hero is born from the Magic Chocolate Bunny Part 2!

After the glow subsided, the chocolate bunny opened its eyes, revealing it to be a living thing. This made Sugar stare at it in wonder, but it also reminded her stomach of how much she missed eating sweets, as it growled in response. She watched it survey the room, and then it noticed her, and hopped over till it was standing near her feet.

"Princess Lolly?" it asked in a female British voice.

"No, I-I-I'm Sugar, Sugar Marmalade," Sugar stammered, trying not to faint.

"Oh, I'm sorry, you're not the one I'm looking for," it said, lowering its ears in disappointment. "But I guess you'll have to do."

"What do you mean? Can you please fill me in on what's going on? My friends are out cold, some freaky monsters came out of a board game, and now I'm talking to a chocolate bunny! Am I going crazy?!"

"I have a name, you know," the bunny snapped, getting Sugar's attention. "It's Hershey, and I've been sent by the King and Queen of Candyland to find their daughter, Princess Lolly, who was taken to the human world after Lord Licorice's forces attacked the Candy Castle and took over."

"But Candyland's just a board game!"

"Oh, but it is real. It exists in a separate plane from your world, and they were always separate until the Candy Brigade spirited Princess Lolly away, turning this world's board game representation of my world into an inter-dimensional portal, allowing the monsters of Candyland to enter and cause as much chaos as they please!"

"But wouldn't this have happened to anyone who played Candyland? Why did it happen to me?"

"I'm not exactly sure, but we must stop these monsters and send them back to where they came from as soon as possible!"

"We? When did it suddenly become _my_ responsibility to save the world?"

"The moment you started playing this innocent game, _you_ somehow triggered the portal to activate. Therefore, you must be connected to the Princess, because only those of royal blood have that kind of power."

"So it's…my fault," Sugar's knees fell under her as she looked at her unconscious friends, and felt tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Please, don't cry now, we have more important things to do!"

"What can I do? I've never fought anything in my life, and I couldn't save my friends from getting hurt!"

At that moment, her friends suddenly stirred, and stood up as if they were perfectly fine.

"Jane! Jill! You're all right!" Sugar cried.

"No, don't go near them!" Hershey said, standing in Sugar's way. "They're possessed by monsters!"

"What?"

But as Jane and Jill raised their heads, Sugar saw that their eyes had gone from violet to neon green. Then they smiled. There was nothing between their lips, but they somehow managed to produce low, throaty male voices.

"**Well if it isn't the little rabbit who escaped our clutches?**" the monster possessing Jane said, transforming into a green human-sized gummy bear.

"**There's nowhere to run here,**" said the monster possessing Jill, shaking its head as it too became a gummy bear.

"What are you, and what have you done to my friends?" Sugar said, walking backwards.

"I told you, they're monsters, and they've taken over your friends' bodies," Hershey said, backing as the monsters advanced. "In order to physically exist in this world, they need something physical to attach to, whether it be an object or a person."

"So how can they be stopped?"

"By the power of the Lollypop Wand."

"The what now?"

Then the bunny's forehead heart started glowing, and out of it appeared a brown and pink swirled lollipop attached to a plastic pink stick. Sugar was immediately enchanted, and grabbed it. Immediately, the lollipop released a blast of pink light that blinded the two gummy bears and stopped them from advancing.

As Sugar struggled to see past the light, Hershey spoke to her. "It has accepted you as its wielder, now say these words: Candy Heart Power!"

"Wait, am I going to strip naked and magically change into a tight frilly costume that is impractical for combat?" Sugar asked.

Hershey smacked her forehead with her paw. "Oh, will you just shut up and say the words already?!"

"Okay, fine!" Sugar raised the wand and reluctantly said, "Candy Heart…"

Suddenly, Sugar's father opened the door, with her mother behind him. For a few seconds, they silently looked at the two gummy bears, who were surprised by their presence, and back at Sugar with her glowing lollypop, trying to comprehend the scene before them. But the gummy bears quickly recovered from their initial shock, and attacked her parents.

"…Power!" Sugar said, quickly finishing the phrase.

The Lollypop Wand responded, and it became so bright that she couldn't see anything else but pink. Sugar then felt a strong wind come out of nowhere, and cause the braids tied to the back of her head to unravel. As they did, her hair grew longer and curled into wavy light-brown pigtails. Her body radiated as her clothes changed into a pink military short-sleeved shirt with a brown tie and white gloves stitched with chocolate hearts covered her hands, while below she gained matching pink short-shorts and stockings, finally ending on brown military boots with pink hearts on them. When the light faded, she found herself back in her bedroom, with Hershey being the only one present, and dashed through the open door to the hallway. She appeared behind the gummy bears as they stumbled towards her parents who were running down the stairs.

"Hey!" Sugar cried, making them stop.

"**Where did you come from?**" one of them asked.

The other was equally confused. "**What happened to the little girl that was in the bedroom not too long ago?**"

"She's…in a safer place than here!" Sugar said, trying to sound confident despite her obvious lies. "That's for sure!"

"**Then who are you?**"

"I'm, uh…"

"She's Soldier Candy, the Champion of Sweet Justice," Hershey said, coming from behind Sugar and standing between her and the gummy bears. "And that means trouble for you goons!"

"Yeah, what she said," Sugar added.

"**Oh yeah? Well I'll show you!**" the one that was closest said, taking a step towards them.

"**But Gumbo, what about the others?**" the other one asked, looking back down the stairs.

"**We'll take care of them later, Gooey, after we take care of this military Barbie who thinks she can take us on!**" Gumbo replied, and smashed his rubbery fist down on the floor, causing it to vibrate and make Sugar and Hershey loose balance.

"What do I do?" Sugar asked, avoiding an incoming punch from Gumbo.

"Use the wand!" Hershey cried, bounding away from Gooey, who was running towards her.

"But, how?"

As Sugar gripped the wand tightly in her right hand, she felt a surge of strength in her left, and it seemed to glow as she curled it. She felt words coming to her mind, and she knew what to do.

"Candy Sucker Punch!" she said as she made an uppercut punch to Gumbo's lower jaw, causing him to fly backwards down the hall. Then before he got up, Sugar dashed up to him and tackled him, holding his giant head under her left elbow. As he struggled to break free, she held the Lollypop Wand to his face and shouted, "Candy Kiss Explosion!"

A white light filled with pink hearts emanated from the wand, completely enveloping Gumbo, who screamed in agony as he was turned into light, and absorbed into the Lollypop itself, leaving an unconscious Jill in his place. Sugar quickly checked Jill's pulse, and was relieved to hear Jill's heart beating normally. Next, she got up and turned towards Gooey, who had managed to corner Hershey into a corner of the hallway that was next to her bedroom, and raised the wand at him for another Candy Kiss Explosion. Like his partner, he too became light and while Jane collapsed onto Hershey, Gooey was also absorbed. It was then that police sirens were heard outside the front door, making Sugar lower the wand, which automatically changed her hair back to the way it was before as well as her clothes. Meanwhile, the wand suddenly shrank and became a lollipop charm on a silver chain necklace.

The police came in, and her parents frantically tried to explain what happened, but fortunately, the police thought they were suffering from shock. They searched the house, noting the damaged floor and blast embers on the walls while medical personnel checked on Jane and Jill. Then they were taken outside in stretchers and given oxygen along with Sugar's parents to help them calm down, while Sugar sat on the lawn with a blanket wrapped around her. Hershey sat behind her so the policemen wouldn't see her, and talked to Sugar as she stared at the scene before her.

"Will it always be like this? Putting my loved ones in danger while I fight for everyone else's safety?" Sugar wondered.

"You don't have to accept this task," Hershey answered. "After all, you'll merely be a stand-in until Princess Lolly shows up, but on the bright side, you won't be alone in this battle. You'll have the Candy Brigade."

"Oh, yeah, you mentioned them before, and who are they?"

"They were the elite military force of Candyland, before Lord Licorice took over, and escorted the Princess to this world when she was an infant so that they could watch over her as she was being raised by humans. However, they knew that their own lives would be in jeopardy if their presence was discovered, so they sealed their powers and memories away, living like normal humans until the day Soldier Candy calls for their assistance."

"Soldier Candy? But wouldn't it make sense if it was the Princess who called them?"

"Soldier Candy and the Princess are intertwined, because Soldier Candy is the Princess' magical alter-ego, and her destined power. She is Candyland's last hope, and that's why she was brought here, to grow up in a protected environment from those who would hurt her, until she was about your age, and be given the power to take on Lord Licorice and his four female generals as Soldier Candy, with the Candy Brigade at her side."

"Wow, that's a lot of responsibility for a sixteen year-old to take on," Sugar looked down at the necklace, and then held it in her hand. "But, I suppose I could ease the burden for her by taking on the Candyland monsters that have escaped to this world and find the Candy Brigade, even though I'll only be 'borrowing' her power."

"If that is what you wish, then I will help you every step of the way."

"By the way, if what you said about creatures from Candyland not being able to exist without attaching to something, how are you standing in front of me as a solid thing?"

This questioned surprised Hershey, and then she said, "Because I have greater magical power than those monsters you saw, as they have very little in comparison."

"Oh," Then a policeman came up to Sugar and asked her about what happened. She answered them briefly, and was reunited with her parents and her friends, who were perfectly fine. Afterward, her friends were taken to the hospital, and she and her parents decided to sleep on the first floor until the hallway was fixed.

As Sugar was tucking herself under the covers of the guest-room, Hershey was sleeping next to her. In the light of the lamp next to the bed, Hershey's smooth chocolate skin looked appetizing to Sugar, who was craving for something sweet to make her feel better after everything she had been through tonight. But then she thought about Miloe's words, and instead rubbed the side of Hershey's face, waking her up.

Sugar hesitated, but then she sighed and asked, "Hershey, was I naked when I transformed?"

Hershey groaned. "It was too bright for anyone to see, so no, nobody saw you as you changed into Soldier Candy. I don't see why you're making such a fuss over that."

"Well, it's important to me, because I wouldn't take on this responsibility if I knew I was showing my body off to monstrous things!"

"But it's not like you have a choice, now that you've accepted the position as Princess Lolly's decoy."

"Decoy? That's insulting! I'm doing a huge favor for her, so she'd better thank me if she happens to come along!"

"Sugar, who are you talking to?" Sugar's father asked, calling out from her parent's bedroom.

"No one, daddy! I'm going to bed now!" Sugar replied, and turned off the lamp.

End of Chapter 2


	3. Chapter 3: The Timid Soldier

Chapter 3: The Timid Soldier with the Fresh Scent of Mint!

A few weeks had passed since Sugar decided to take on the role of Soldier Candy for Princess Lolly, and was spending most of her free time these days tracking down Candyland monsters and exorcising them from the things they attached themselves to in order to cause physical destruction. Though Jill and Jane were still her friends, she noticed that they weren't hanging out with her as much as they used to, and maybe it was better that way, for safety reasons. She still admired Miloe, but couldn't talk to him because of her promise to become the strong and healthy woman he desired. But he had a new friend that kept him occupied, as Sugar found out one evening as she was watching the male tennis team practice on the courts. He had milk-chocolate hair that ran all the way down to his shoulders, and his eyes were the same color. His skin was slightly pale, but it didn't make him look ghostly in his white tennis uniform.

"Sugar, I really think we should go. I sense three parts of a monster named Gloppy out on the prowl near the shopping mall!" Hershey said, speaking from inside a red cooler Sugar carried.

"All right, fine! If going will make you happy, then I will!" Sugar snapped, irritated that she couldn't stay longer. But as she got up, she saw the boy with chocolate-brown hair walking toward her.

"Who were you talking to?" he asked in a whiny male voice.

"No one," Sugar replied, stepping down the bleachers.

"Yeah, right, I saw you clearly yelling at your cooler, so there must be something inside, or you could be crazy."

"I'm not crazy, and who I talk to is none of your business!"

"Whatever you say, crazy girl."

"It's Sugar, you jerk!" Then Sugar stormed away, swinging the cooler side to side.

"The name's Duke, sugar-pie!"

"Don't call me sugar-pie!"

Later, after transforming into Soldier Candy behind a dumpster, Sugar ran out into the parking lot of the shopping mall, which was dominated by three walking blobs made of melting molasses. People ran away in terror as the three molasses blobs rolled over cars and melted them and even caused the cement and tar in the parking lot to be covered in gooey brown liquid. It was then that Sugar used her new agility to jump on top of a lamp that stood between all three blobs and addressed them.

"Hey, Gloppy, stop what you're doing! I'm Soldier Candy, the Champion of Swe—

One of the blobs swung its gooey arms and knocked the lamp clean off the patch of grass it was standing on, which sent Sugar flying through the air. She cried for help, but all Hershey could do was watch. Then, flash of pink came out of the sky and caught Sugar before she fell. When she looked up at her savior, it was a man with bulging muscles and short brown hair spiked up underneath a pink military cap that was pointed downward to hide his face. Then as he set her down, she saw that his entire uniform was pink, complete with a billowing cape.

"Do not fear! Commander Dandy is here!" he said in a loud, booming voice.

"Well, um, thank you, I, uh, could use the extra…help," Sugar stuttered, and turned away as she felt her cheeks suddenly flush red.

"No need to thank me! Now let's get these blobs under control!"

"Oh, yeah, right!"

So while Commander Dandy ran in circles around the blobs, forcing them to join into one gigantic blob, Sugar aimed the Lollypop Wand at it and said, "Candy Kiss Explosion!"

The monster screamed horribly as the white light and pink hearts enveloped its massive body as it was absorbed into the wand. In the molasses blobs' place stood a large golden Hummer turned on its side. Then as the police arrived, Soldier Candy and Commander Dandy ran into the shadows and parted ways. Sugar stared longingly at the commander as he flew into the light of the moon, until she was snapped back into reality by Hershey jumping on her shoulders like a cat.

"Sugar, what is wrong with you? You were doing fine until that Commander Dandy showed up! You were love-stricken!"

But Sugar ignored Hershey, and shrugged her off. "Well I **did** defeat the monsters in the end, didn't I? And if he hadn't shown up, I would've had my brains splattered all over the pavement by now!"

"Yes, that is true, but he shouldn't be someone to rely on if you're going to get cocky from his mere presence alone. I think it's time for us to concentrate on finding the Candy Brigade!"

"But if Princess Lolly was a baby when they brought her here, they must be pretty old by now, so what would be the point in dragging veterans into this battle?"

"No, they were not adults when they came here. They were teenagers roughly your age."

"Then they must be around thirty at least, and how are we going to find them when there's a whole city full of them?"

"Leave the searching to me. You go home and get some rest."

So Sugar changed back, and took a bus back to her house, where her parents were angry that she was out so late and didn't call or tell them about it. She explained that she was out watching the tennis team practice, but they didn't entirely buy it, and grounded her again. This agitated Sugar, because it would make catching monsters difficult when she now had a strict curfew to follow. But she took Hershey's advice and went to bed, though by morning, she was sore and sleepy-eyed.

These symptoms followed her the rest of the day, and she even fell asleep during Math class. Ms. Hamstring slammed the ruler on her desk to get Sugar's attention, threatening detention if Sugar slept again. Then she went through her other classes in a blurry haze, until she collapsed onto the couch in the library. It seemed like hours before someone woke her up. She opened her eyes, and saw a girl with short black-blue hair tied in downward pigtails and square-framed glasses standing in front of her with a steaming plastic cup in her hands.

"Um, excuse me, but would you like some um, coffee?" she asked in a quiet, whispered voice.

"Yeah, sure," Sugar replied, and took the cup from the girl's hands. As she drank the coffee, she caught the scent of something cool and fresh, but oddly familiar. Then Sugar looked up at the girl and said, "Thank you."

"Oh, you're um, welcome."

"Have I seen you somewhere before?"

"Well, um, I do assistant work…here in the library."

"You're usually shelving books, right?"

"Yes, that is my main job."

"It looks difficult."

"No, it's not bad. I like it because I um, don't have to um, interact with people, not a lot anyway."

"But are you comfortable with that?"

"Not really, but I…have a hard time g-getting along with people, because I-I'm shy, and it m-m-makes me s-s-stutter." The girl's face flushed, and she fled between two bookshelves.

Before Sugar could catch up to her, the bell rang. So she left the library and went to her other classes, but instead of going home, she waited outside the library for the girl. When the girl came out, she was surprised, and ran away in embarrassment. Luckily, Sugar managed to catch up to her. Apart from the glasses, the girl wore a blue sweater and wool skirt that went down to her ankles, where a pair of black dress shoes stood out. Her dark blue eyes avoided eye-contact with Sugar as she spoke.

"W-Why did you wait for me? We're not f-friends, so I don't u-understand."

"I wanted to offer to walk home with you, as thanks for that coffee you gave me," Sugar replied, and then pointed to the door that was past the girl. "You're heading that way, right? That's where I'm heading too."

"Oh, well I…I guess it would be rude t-to say no," the girl said, as they both walked out the door and down the sidewalk next to the tennis courts.

The tennis team wasn't there, which made Sugar upset. But when she tried to think of Miloe, all she could think about was Commander Dandy. She quickly brushed the image out of her head, and convinced herself that Miloe was the one, and nobody else could take his place. Then her thoughts were distracted by that same aroma she smelled earlier when the girl gave her coffee.

"Um, this may sound like an awkward question, but," Sugar stumbled, making the other girl stop. "Are you wearing perfume?"

"No, I-I don't usually have perfume on," the girl replied, blushing slightly.

"Just wondering. Oh, we haven't introduced ourselves. My name's Sugar Marmalade."

"I'm uh…Aroma. Aroma Frost."

"That's a pretty name!"

This made the girl, Aroma, smile a little bit. But she didn't talk much as she and Sugar walked home. The sun was down by the time they reached a crosswalk, where Sugar went one way and Aroma went the other. Then just as Sugar was about to cross the street to the boulevard where her house was, she heard a piercing scream and ran toward the source. It came from an alley next to the sidewalk, and there, Sugar saw Aroma struggling against a tall black creature with sharp claws and curved horns that were orange, yellow, and white, like candy corn. Looking at the time, she knew her parents were expecting her home, but she couldn't leave Aroma to die either. So she quickly changed and ran into the alley, tackling the creature and pinning it against the wall beyond it and Aroma, who watched in amazement.

"**W-Where in the world did you come from, and who the hell are you?**"

"I'm Soldier Candy, Champion of Sweet Justice, and that means trouble for you!" Sugar said, holding the wand up to his face. "Candy Ki—

But the creature jabbed her in the ribs with its pointed elbow and knocked her down. In the street lamp from above, it was revealed to be a devil-like creature with slender arms and legs with candy-corn patterned horns and claws. It picked Sugar up by her ankle, and shook her violently till she dropped the wand.

"**You thought one blow would finish me off, did you? Well I'm Corn Devil, the most devilish fiend in Candyland, apart from Lord Licorice of course, who granted me and the others freedom to destroy this pathetic place that is the human world! When I'm finished with you and your friend, I'm going to take that wand of yours and break it in half!**"

"No! I won't let you!"

"**Says the girl whose dangling by her feet**," Corn Devil said as his hand turned red, and the smell of burning flesh lingered in the air as Corn Devil was about to reach for the wand with his free hand, when he noticed it was gone. He wheeled around and saw Aroma holding it in front of her, backing away slowly. "**If you think you can use that wand, think again! Only the Princess of Candyland can wield it.**"

"I-I don't care if I can use it, but I won't let you hurt my friend!"

"Friend?" Then Sugar smelled that scent again, but it was much stronger than before, and it seemed to be radiating from somewhere. After getting a good whiff, she finally recognized it. "Mint! That's what I'm smelling!"

Suddenly, from down the alley, Hershey bounded out of the shadows with her forehead heart glowing as a spear made of blue leaves shot out toward Aroma, who tossed the wand to Sugar and caught the spear. Then as Sugar caught the wand and was about to aim it at Corn Devil, Aroma took the spear in both hands, and stomped it on the ground with the blade pointing straight up, saying "Mint Power!" as a blue, misty light surrounded her.

While Corn Devil tried to grab Sugar's wand, Sugar managed to use a Candy Sucker Punch on his chest, which knocked the air out of him, forcing him to drop her. She quickly got on her feet and stood in front of the blue light with the Lollypop Wand raised. But Corn Devil didn't hesitate and threw fireballs at her. It was at that moment that the light cleared, and in Aroma's place stood a girl with blue eyes and long blue hair tied in braids, wearing a short blue military shirt with a white tie and gloves with blue mint leaves, matching blue shorts, white stockings, and blue army boots with white mint leaves, carrying that same spear. Quickly, she nudged Sugar out of the way, and pointed the spear at Corn Devil's heart as she said, "Mint Ice Blizzard!"

A blast of icy wind came out of the spear and froze the fireballs and Corn Devil in his place. Then Sugar, despite the horrible pain in her leg, raised the wand at him and said, "Candy Kiss Explosion!" which turned Corn Devil into light and was absorbed into the Lollypop Wand, leaving a trashcan behind. Shortly afterward, Sugar collapsed from exhaustion and pain, as she noticed her lower leg was burned when Corn Devil's grip had tightened before. The girl with the blue-haired braids crouched down next to her, placing her hand on Sugar's leg while holding the spear in the other and whispered, "Mint Breath Refreshment."

As an icy substance covered the burn-marks, Hershey hopped up to them and looked at the girl in surprise. "Well, Soldier Mint, I never expected you to stay as a young girl for this long. How did you manage?"

"It was actually quite simple," the girl replied. "When me and the other Candy Brigade girls sealed our powers and our memories, we also stopped our natural aging processes, appearing as young teenage girls until Soldier Candy called for help, which would not only activate our abilities but also regain our memories and allow us to start aging again."

"Okay, everything you said doesn't make sense, but I guess this is typical for most magical girl stories anyway," Sugar said, shivering from the ice. "By the way, Hershey, how did you know where to find us, let alone get here in the nick of time?"

"Plot convenience."

"Oh." Then as the ice cleared, Sugar's eyes widened to see that the burn-marks were completely gone. "How did you do that?"

"Soldier Mint is the Champion of Cool-Headedness, which means she has ice and healing-related powers," Hershey explained, while Soldier Mint lowered her spear, changing into Aroma.

"Wait a minute, so Soldier Mint was Aroma?"

"You must have somehow triggered her transformation."

"Well, I did smell something that lingered around Aroma all day, and it was only during the battle with Corn Devil that I recognized it as mint. Then you showed up, gave Aroma the spear-thing, and poof! Solider Mint was there."

"Um, the spear is actually called the Mint Spear," Aroma said, holding her head. "I remember so many things, that it's hurting my head."

"My Gumdrop, you caught her Scent!" Hershey exclaimed.

"Her Scent?"

"In order to make it easier for Soldier Candy to distinguish us from regular people, we gave ourselves a magical Scent that was affiliated with our names, and the catalyst of activating our powers when Soldier Candy says that Scent's name out loud," Aroma said, and rubbed her head again.

"How very clever of you girls, I never would've guessed that you planned that far in advance," Hershey said, and hopped into Aroma's hands. "If it isn't too much trouble, do you think you could tell us what the other Candy Brigade members look like and maybe even Princess Lolly?"

"It was so long ago that I don't remember, and the Princess was so little that she only had one tuft of curly purple hair on her head, until her power was sealed away, that is."

"You sealed the Princess' powers away too?!"

"We did it…for her safety," Aroma said faintly, and passed out, holding a blue bracelet decorated in glossy blue mint leaves.

"She's exhausted not only from using her power after so long, but from all the memories returning to her as well," Hershey said, hopping down from Aroma's hands. "You should probably take her to your house Sugar, and allow her to stay for the night, if that's alright with your parents."

"My parents won't mind, but they'll be pissed at me for being late again, and I'm supposed to be grounded!" Sugar groaned as she changed back and helped Aroma up, dragging her back to the sidewalk and across the street to the boulevard. She noticed Aroma's bracelet falling off, and quickly caught it, clipping it onto her wrist. Then she looked at her own lollipop necklace, and said to herself, "A friend, huh?"

End of Chapter 3


	4. Chapter 4: Cinnamon Girl

Chapter 4: The Hotheaded Cinnamon Girl!

While Sugar was grounded, Aroma offered to take care of the monsters that Sugar couldn't get on her tight schedule. But as Sugar found out a few days later, it was more of a burden than a favor. Aroma got easily scared by the littlest things, like shadows and people sneaking up on her, and was very sleepy-eyed. Sugar was no better, but felt guilty about it when she saw Aroma walk into a tree by accident.

"Maybe I shouldn't have gotten her involved in this, and left her oblivious to her real identity," Sugar said to Hershey later that night.

"But then you would be getting into more trouble than you already are, and besides, it was bound to happen sooner or later, though not necessarily with you," Hershey replied, eating some carrot cake Sugar left for her.

"You were expecting Princess Lolly to awaken them, weren't you?"

"Yes, more or less, in regards to the prophecy."

"What prophesy?" Sugar asked, looking at Hershey with an odd stare.

Dismissing Sugar's stare, Hershey continued to eat her carrot cake while she explained, "It was something that our wise council, Gramma Nutt, told the King and Queen when Lolly was born, saying that 'in a distant land, Lolly will come to realize her true power, awaken the four flavors, and stop the evil that rests on the other side of the Lollipop Woods'. Clearly, the distant land refers to earth, the four flavors refer to the Candy Brigade, and the evil she referred to was none other than Lord Licorice himself."

"Yeah, but just because you can see the future doesn't mean everything will go exactly as planned."

"In your case, this is true, but we must find the rest of the Candy Brigade at all costs, and it'll be much easier thanks to your ability to pick up their Scents."

Sugar shrugged. "Well, I guess, but how am I supposed to distinguish magical scents from ordinary ones, like perfume?"

"Simple. You ask them if they're wearing perfume or not."

The next day, she offered to walk home with Aroma, but she had to go to a book club that night, and the tennis boys weren't practicing either, which was both a disappointment and a relief. She missed Miloe, but wanted to avoid Duke whenever possible. He annoyed her by calling her 'sugar-pie' every time they ran into each other, and people laughed when she yelled at him for it. Luckily, Miloe was never there during those incidents. But Sugar's thoughts were suddenly interrupted when a soccer ball flew out of the field she was walking next to and hit her directly on the side of the head.

She groaned in pain, and knelt down holding her head when someone came up to her and asked in a deep, feminine voice, "Are you okay?"

It was a girl with tan skin and burgundy eyes, but her hair was so short and her soccer uniform was so baggy that for a second, Sugar thought she was talking to a guy. But a strong, spicy aroma reminded her otherwise as the girl helped Sugar up. She scratched the back of her head a dozen times as Sugar picked up the cooler where Hershey was kept in.

"I'm really, really sorry about hitting you. Man, my kick just went out of control! I hope you can forgive me," the girl said apologetically. Then she noticed the cooler. "Hey, what have you got in there?"

"Oh, it's nothing, j-just a chocolate bunny," then Sugar felt immediately stupid for saying that out loud.

"A chocolate bunny, in autumn? What are you carrying it around for?"

"Oh, I…I have a bit of a sweet tooth, so I bring it with me in case I feel like having a bite…or two."

"Wow, I have a sweet tooth too!" the girl exclaimed, and pulled out a small bag of cinnamon candy. "That's why I carry these wherever I go!"

"I see," Sugar said, realizing that her ability to smell Scents was off. "Well, I'd better get going."

"Are you sure? You might have a concussion."

"No, no, I'm fine, but thanks anyway."

Then just as Sugar walked away, the girl called after her. "In case you need help, my name is Pepper Chili! What's yours?"

"Sugar Marmalade," Sugar reluctantly said, and crossed the street.

"Whew! That was a close one," Sugar said to herself as she let Hershey out of the cooler in the kitchen.

"Did you pick up a Scent?" Hershey asked, hopping onto the kitchen table.

"I thought I did, but it turned out she had cinnamon-scented candy on her." Sugar put away the cooler, and then stopped to admire Hershey's appetizing skin.

"Well I doubt that the scent from the candy can be _that_ strong, and what happened? I heard a bunch of noises and thought you were in danger."

"The girl with the candy was playing soccer and she accidently kicked the ball far enough to where it hit my head."

"You're not hurt, are you?"

"No, not really." Then Sugar noticed that the skin on Hershey was cracked slightly, and felt tempted to take a piece out of it. But she restrained herself and said, "Hershey, we should probably put you in the freezer tonight. You're starting to crack."

"Crack? Good Lollypop!" Hershey exclaimed, and didn't struggle when Sugar picked her up and put her in the freezer.

The next day, the girl she met yesterday, Pepper, ran into her wearing baggy, boyish clothes and insisted on taking her out to lunch. Though Sugar initially refused, Pepper managed to convince her to walk to the nearest Mexican restaurant down the block from the school. The food wasn't great, but it brought in a lot of kids wanting a quick meal. So they each ordered a burrito and while Sugar ate silently, Pepper continued to talk even with her mouth full.

"So what kind of hobbies do you have?" Pepper asked, while chomping down on her chicken fajita burrito.

"None, really, I…really like sweets, and was obsessed with them for a while, but not so much anymore," Sugar said, looking down.

"That still counts as a hobby. What made you quit liking sweets?"

"A…boy."

This made Pepper spit out the piece of burrito she just ate and break out into laughter. At first, Sugar didn't understand what was funny, and then she noticed a strange aura hanging above the ice-cream-making machine next to the soft drink machine. Then a white icy substance emerged from the top of the machine, and dripped down till it hit the floor. People watched until the employees came up to inspect it. But then an unexpected thing happened: out of the drooping substance appeared a pair of arms that touched the employees and froze them in place. As the thing grew legs and got up off the counter, people screamed and ran out of the restaurant, catching Pepper's attention.

"What's going on?" she asked, and then saw the thing for herself.

It was completely made of white ice cream mixed with blue sprinkles for eyes and mouth, with a whip cream head, no nose, and solid cold arms and legs that froze anything that it touched. Sugar tried to sneak away to change as Pepper was surprised by the sight of the thing, but was interrupted by Soldier Mint's appearance in the entrance of the restaurant. She tried to stand tall, but the bags under her eyes and her loose grip on the Mint Spear made Sugar realize that Aroma was too tired to take this monster on.

"Leave that citizen alone, ice-cream monster, I'm Soldier Mint...the Champion of…Cool…Headedness, I think," she said in a slur, and aimed the spear at the creature, saying, "Mint Ice Blizzard!"

The blast of icy wind stunned it, allowing enough time for Sugar to get Pepper away from the monster's path. But after a few seconds, it used it's own strength to snap out of the stiffness, and then it opened its empty mouth and released the same icy wind back at her. Soldier Mint tried to retaliate by spinning the spear, but the wind froze her in place.

"**My name is not 'ice-cream monster'. It's Frosty!**" the monster roared.

"Damn, it can absorb ice-based attacks!" Pepper exclaimed, watching the creature from her and Sugar's hiding place, which was behind a wall that separated the kitchen from a hall that led to the bathroom.

"You know, you're taking this more well than you should be," Sugar said, staring at Aroma.

"That's because she's Soldier Cinnamon, a confident warrior whose always ready for action!" Hershey said, propping her head out of the cooler and staring up at Pepper's perplexed eyes.

"Did that chocolate bunny just talk to me?" Pepper asked.

"Cinnamon? It's just her candy!" Sugar cried, and realized that the monster probably heard them, as its droopy footsteps were coming closer. Then, Sugar smelled the same cinnamon scent from earlier, but it was stronger, like the scent of mint on Aroma. It was then that she knew Hershey was right. As the monster loomed over her, she took out the necklace and said, "Candy Heart Power!"

As the light enveloped her, she heard Pepper follow suit and say "Cinnamon Power!" as they both transformed. When they came out, the monster was standing between them as it had walked through the light thinking it could freeze Sugar. When Sugar turned to face the monster, she looked at Pepper, and was relieved to find another Candy Brigade Soldier. Her short brown hair had turned orange and spikey, as well as her eyes, wearing a red military shirt with an orange tie, matching red shorts, orange stockings, and brown boots with the same red blast symbols as on her white gloves. While the monster was staring at them with a gaping mouth, the two girls nodded and aimed their weapons at the monster.

"Listen up, Frosty, you picked the wrong place to wreak havoc!" Sugar said. "I'm Soldier Candy, the Champion of Sweet Justice, and that means trouble for you!"

"And I'm Soldier Cinnamon, the Champion of Hot Vengeance!" Pepper added, and loaded her shotgun made of Cinnamon sticks and red candy with Hot Tamale candies she produced from thin air, aiming it at the back of its head. Then she clicked the trigger and shouted, "Cinnamon Double Rounds!"

Several small fireballs fired out of the barrel of the shotgun and stunned the monster as parts of its body started to melt in the places where the bullets lodged. As it fell down it became a puddle of soft ice cream, and could barely move. This allowed Sugar the opportunity to aim the Lollypop Wand at it and say, "Candy Kiss Explosion!"

After the monster was absorbed and left a broken ice-cream maker in its place, Sugar and Pepper went to Aroma, who was still frozen. Realizing what she needed to do, Pepper simply pointed the gun at Aroma and said, "Cinnamon Fire Blast" which caused fire to escape from the shotgun and quickly melt the ice. As the ice thawed and Aroma shivered, Sugar hugged her close to warm her up while Pepper went to work on the employees and other people that were frozen. Once they were thawed, they immediately ran out before the people could identify them, and went down the alley behind the restaurant before the police got there. Luckily, not one thing or person followed them, and so they rested on some steps in front of a liquor store.

"You…you saved my life, Soldier Cinnamon," Aroma said, snapping out of the cold shock.

"Well, I was only doing my duty," Pepper said, scratching the back of her head.

"But if you hadn't shown up, we would all be frozen," Sugar said, helping Aroma sit on the steps.

"That's true, and who would be around to protect these innocent people from the Candyland monsters?" Pepper nodded, then she noticed Hershey and asked, "But Hershey, if Soldier Candy is capable of noticing our Scents, how come you were able to recognize mine before _she_ did?"

"Because I too can pick up magical Scents. The Candyland King gave me this ability in case Soldier Candy failed to notice them," Hershey then hopped up into Pepper's lap and asked, "Cinnamon, if you're memory has returned, can you remember what the other two Soldiers look like, and the Princess?"

Pepper thought about it for a few minutes and then she said, "It's kind of fuzzy, but I remember Mint, cuz her hair's blue, and then the other two were blondes. I don't remember their names, but I know one was short and the other was tall. The Princess I remember pretty well. Mint was holding her. She was wrapped in a rainbow-colored blanket, with her little pale face peeking out and had a small strand of purple hair, and brown eyes. We were shocked when we first came here, because this world was so different from our own, and then we…god, I can't remember now."

Pepper's clothes changed back, and the cinnamon shotgun became a bracelet made of solid red balls. The other two changed back as well, and sat contemplating their situation. They knew they had to find the other two, because their memories held the key to what happened to the Princess, and the sooner they found the Princess, the better the chance they had to rid the city of the Candyland monsters and defeat the one who released them, Lord Licorice.

End of Chapter 4


	5. Chapter 5: Fragmented Candy

Chapter 5: Fragmented Candy and Crème!

After Hershey explained the situation in more detail, Pepper willingly accepted her duty and put her all into helping Sugar capture the monsters during the following weeks. Though Sugar's parents had ended grounding her a while ago, she still wanted to stick to curfew in order to not make them mad again. There were also times when Commander Dandy showed up to provide extra help, but Sugar always became love-struck and dim-witted. Aroma and Pepper thought her love of him was silly, because she barely knew the guy, and when she saw Miloe, she felt guilty.

This occupied her thoughts during Math class while Ms. Hamstring was writing equations on the board, and explaining them briefly. But she was interrupted when the door opened, and a little girl walked into the classroom. Ms. Hamstring was surprised, as the girl was only up to her waist in height, but quite adorable with a child-like face and short sand-blond hair that was cut close to her head, decorated in a variety of colorful hairclips. She faced the class wearing a short black dress with a short white blouse underneath, and nodded politely.

"Class, this is Crème Sweetie, one of our new students as of today. Please give her a warm welcome!" Ms. Hamstring said to the rest of the classroom.

Everybody watched her in awe as she sat down at a vacant seat in the front row, pulled the math textbook out of cute little black handbag, and flipped to the page they were on. While Ms. Hamstring continued the lecture, Sugar was fascinated by the little girl, who gave off an aura of complete politeness and cuteness rolled into one. Then she noted a scent she didn't smell before in this room: a sweet, sugary smell that reminded Sugar of the French toast she had for breakfast.

_How could a girl this young be a high school student? _Sugar wondered after class was dismissed. _Maybe she's a kid genius or something…_

"Hello!" cried a loud, cheerful voice.

Sugar looked down and saw the little girl standing in front of her.

"Um, hi," Sugar replied, feeling surprised. "Cream, right?"

"No, Crème! It's pronounced with a French accent," the girl said, smiling. "My sister and I originally lived in Quebec, but our parents decided to go on a worldwide trip, and sent us to school down here in the United States."

"You have a sister?"

"Yeah! Her name is Meringue, and she's five years older than me."

"And…how old are you?"

"Twelve years old!"

Sugar nearly fainted, but luckily someone stopped her from falling. She looked behind her, and gasped when she realized it was Miloe. He was initially surprised to see her, but smiled anyway. This made Sugar's heart melt, but backed away instinctively when she remembered her love-related dilemma.

"I notice you haven't been watching the tennis team practice lately," Miloe said, giving her a worried frown. "We're starting to miss you."

"We?" Sugar didn't understand.

"Well, technically me and Duke."

_That jerk! I never want to see him again!_ Sugar thought irritably.

Then she remembered Miloe was still standing there, and explained. "Supporting your team…wasn't the reason I was watching your practices. I was supporting someone who was on the team, but lately I…haven't found the time to come due to…other stuff."

"Like what?"

Before Sugar could answer, the bell for second period rang, and had to run to her next class, which left Miloe and Crème standing there in the hallway. Later, she was planning to go and have lunch by herself, but Pepper decided to take her and Aroma out to a different Mexican place, since the other one was still being repaired. While Pepper scarfed down her food, Aroma shifted in her seat uncomfortably while Sugar stared into nothing.

"Come on, guys, eat up!" Pepper said between bites. "The food will get cold if you just stare at it!"

"It's so loud in here and-and chaotic," Aroma muttered.

"Why is love so complicated?" Sugar said to herself.

Pepper sighed in frustration. "Jesus, you guys need to lighten up! It's good to go out and hang out with your friends once in a while, right?"

"When did we become friends?" Sugar asked, snapping out of her daze. "The only thing we have in common is our secret identities, but even then, mine isn't going to last for long."

Aroma looked at Sugar in surprise. "What do you mean?"

"Well, as soon as we find Princess Lolly, she's going to take over for me," Sugar said, sipping her soda casually. "After all, this is _her_ responsibility. I'm just a stand-in."

"But are you satisfied with that?" Pepper asked, glaring at Sugar. "You're doing all this work for a Princess you've never met, and fine with getting nothing for it?!"

"Oh, I'll ask her to give me some gratitude, by taking away Commander Dandy."

This shocked Aroma and Pepper.

"But I thought you liked the guy," Pepper said, resting her chin on her hand. "Even though I don't approve."

"Yes, I do like the guy but…"

Before Sugar could finish, she saw Crème standing right next to their table. She smiled at all of them, and asked politely if she could sit with them. Pepper didn't mind, and scooted over to let Crème sit next to her. Aroma was enchanted by her adorableness while Sugar still wondered how Crème knew they were there.

"I felt that our discussion wasn't finished, so I followed you all the way here!" Crème explained. "And are these two your friends?"

"Sort of," Sugar said reluctantly. She noticed the same sweet smell, but there were other scents mixed in from all over the restaurant as well, so she couldn't be sure if this was definitely a magical Scent or not. "They're…people I participate in after-school activities with."

"Ooh, what kind of activities?"

"We…get together, go around town, and hang out."

"Sounds like friends to me!" Then Crème turned to face Pepper, and held her hand out. "Hi, I'm Crème Sweetie. What's your name?"

"Pepper Chili." After shaking Crème's hand, Pepper gestured towards the other girls. "The shy one in the corner is Aroma Frost, and the one you followed here is Sugar Marmalade."

"Sugar…I like that name!" Crème cried.

It was then that the red cooler started to rattle. Sugar quickly excused herself and went outside to crouch behind the back of the restaurant. There she let Hershey out of the cooler and allowed her to speak freely.

"I sense there's a monster near here. It's not very strong, but it could be if we don't stop it right away!" Hershey cried as her forehead heart blinked on and off.

"Can it wait? I'm kind in the middle of having lunch with the other two, so now's not a good time," Sugar replied. But just as Hershey protested, Sugar shut her back in the cooler and closed the lid.

Later, after the final bell rang, Sugar, Aroma, and Pepper met outside by the school entrance. After brief nods, they proceeded towards the dumpster by the Mexican restaurant that was damaged by Frosty, and stood behind it. Then, after a cautionary look around them, they opened the cooler.

"Great! Now we're in bigger trouble thanks to Sugar," Hershey said, glaring at Sugar.

This made Sugar irritated. "What was I supposed to do? I couldn't leave everyone spontaneously, or get Aroma and Pepper to come without leaving Crème behind!"

"Just because she's twelve doesn't mean she can't take care of herself," Pepper said, folding her arms. "If she can travel all the way from Canada down to the States with her sister without getting into trouble, she would've been fine if we had left her at the restaurant."

"But it would also be **rude**, Pepper, did you ever think of that?"

"Not as rude as not calling us your friends," Aroma added, hiding her tears. "After all we've been through, the only gratitude we get is merely being 'the people you participate in after-school activities with'. Makes us sound like we're more of a nuisance!"

Sugar sighed. "Okay, I didn't mean it like that, but apart from capturing monsters and going out to lunch a couple of times, we don't know each other that well!"

"Girls! Now's not the time to be fighting!" Hershey said abruptly. "We have a bad monster named Plumpy on the loose down Main Street, and it was the same one I sensed earlier today. It wasn't strong then because it was small, but somehow, Plumpy was able to consume enough sweets to gain more energy and make it grow bigger."

"And how big is it?" Pepper asked.

"That big," Hershey nodded in the direction of Main Street. Sure enough, a green, fuzzy monster the size of a two-story building was tromping around, destroying everything beneath its feet, with the screams of hundreds following it. The girls stared at it with surprise and fear, but were determined nevertheless.

"Wow, that thing's bigger than Gloppy," Sugar noted, and then she stood up clutching her lollipop necklace. "But we'll capture it for sure!"

"Not this time," Pepper said. "Until you decide what our relationship is, you're on your own for this battle."

"We'll still fight the monster," Aroma said, walking away. "Just without you."

End of Chapter 5


	6. Chapter 6: Vanilla

Chapter 6: Vanilla! The Tiniest Soldier Ever!

With Aroma and Pepper not on her side, Sugar immediately headed downtown on her scooter. She got a few feet when she heard someone call her name. After halting, she turned around and saw Crème running towards her.

"Crème, what are you doing?" Sugar asked.

"I want to come with you!" Crème said with a straight face.

This made Sugar's head spin, but she quickly shook her head. "Crème, you can't go where I'm going! It's too dangerous and I don't want you to get hurt!"

"But I heard you and the other girls talking, so technically I'm involved." When Sugar's face paled, Crème explained. "I wanted to tell you something really important during our lunch meeting, but I couldn't talk about it openly, so after school was out, I hoped to catch you, but then I saw you leave with Aroma and Pepper. I followed, and went to the other side of the trashcan where you couldn't see me, listening to everything you said, which only confirmed my suspicions."

"Suspicions?" Sugar muttered, still in shock.

"That you were Soldier Candy, like the chocolate bunny said!"

"Chocolate bunny?" Then Sugar looked at the cooler. "Hershey!"

"What?" Hershey asked, popping her head out.

"You have some explaining to do!" Sugar yelled, grabbing Hershey by the neck. "This girl claims to know you, and she heard everything we were talking about, so our secret has now been exposed to a perfect stranger!"

"Not exactly," Hershey replied, folding her forepaws. "Notice her Scent."

Reluctantly, Sugar smelled the air around them, and that sweet smell came up again. She thought she was imagining it back at the restaurant, but it was real, and definitely strong. Then she came up close to Crème and finally recognized it.

"Is it…vanilla?" Sugar wondered out loud.

Then Hershey's forehead heart glowed, and from it emerged a long white fencing foil with a brown hilt with matching ribbons attached. Crème immediately grabbed the foil, and raised it high above her, saying, "Vanilla Power!"

A white, creamy light surrounded Crème as Sugar and Hershey closed their eyes. A few minutes passed, and the monster's roars echoed from downtown as Aroma and Pepper tried to fight it. When the light had dissipated, Crème stood rigidly wearing a chocolate brown military short-sleeved shirt and shorts with a white tie, stockings, and gloves with creamy vanilla flowers on them, with the similar ones on her brown boots. Her hair had also grown longer and lighter in color, with a brown headband tied over her bangs. She opened her eyes, which were a lighter brown than before, and smiled at Sugar.

"Soldier Candy!" she said, hugging Sugar at the waist. "It was worth slowing the aging process, because knew I would get to meet you someday!"

"It's glad to have you with us, Soldier Vanilla, however the reunion will have to wait as we have a monster to capture!" Hershey shouted, nodding in the monster's direction.

Crème stared at the monster, and grinned. "This guy should be a piece of cake with the four of us combined!"

"Well, Mint and Cinnamon had an argument with Soldier Candy, and decided to try to tackle the monster themselves."

"Oh, dear, we have to help them!" Crème turned to Sugar, and pointed the tip of the foil at her. "Candy! You have to transform now!"

Sugar nodded, and quickly changed into her outfit. Then she took out her Lollypop Wand and said, "Candy Kiss Explosion!"

Unfortunately, the blast barely reached the monster, making Sugar swear under her breath. Crème then took Sugar's scooter, and asked Sugar to sit behind her. Sugar did as she said, and watched Crème tie the brown ribbons from her foil onto the handles of the scooter. Hershey's eyes lit up in excitement as she jumped onto Sugar's shoulders. After the ribbons were tied, Crème held the foil up between the handles, and shouted, "Vanilla Ribbon Drift!"

To Sugar's surprise, the scooter flew into the air and went straight for downtown. By this point, the sun had gone low enough to where they were nothing but black silhouettes against the darkening sky. Sugar felt self-conscience as people who were running from the downtown area looked up at them in curiosity, but was shocked by the amount of damage the monster had already done. Various buildings were demolished, cars were destroyed, and the pavement had cracked in several places where the monster, Plumpy, had stepped. Up close, it was much bigger, and roaring at the top of its lungs as it held Aroma and Pepper in its big, furry hands.

"You let my friends go this instant, or I'll give you a Sucker Punch like you'll never believe!" Sugar cried, getting Plumpy's attention.

Plumpy immediately dropped Aroma and Pepper and went after Sugar and Crème. But Crème navigated the scooter in a downward spiral around Plumpy as they caught Aroma and Pepper before they hit the ground, which they landed on unsteadily, breaking the scooter in the process. However, this didn't concern Sugar as she checked on Aroma and Pepper, who were both covered in asphalt and bruises. Plumpy then noticed them and tried to squash them, but the four quickly took shelter under the broken roof of a demolished building.

"Hey, Mint, do you think you can do a little Refreshment spell?" Crème asked Aroma as her eyelids fluttered open.

"I think I can, Soldier Vanilla," Aroma replied and focused her Mint Spear on Pepper, chanting, "Mint Breath Refreshment!"

Once Pepper was completely healed, Aroma pointed the spear at herself, and then said the same words. Luckily, Plumpy didn't attack them immediately as he was preoccupied by Commander Dandy, who was distracting it for the girls' sakes. Sugar watched him in awe, but remembered the unfinished conversation with Miloe, and concentrated on the three other Soldiers instead.

"Mint, Cinnamon, I know I said some things that I shouldn't have said earlier today," Sugar said, looking down in embarrassment. "But now, I've realized that…you guys have helped me a lot over the past few weeks, not only with this difficult task I've put upon myself, but to cope with it…by being my friends."

"Yeah, we sort of came to the same conclusion," Pepper said, rubbing the back of her head. "After getting our butts kicked, that is."

"Well now that you have me, this monster will be a pushover!" Crème cried, but then she sulked. "But I wish I knew where it got its power from!"

"It gets…its power…from candy," a voice mumbled underneath the rubble.

The four girls dug down where they heard the voice, and discovered the person who spoke to them was Miloe. He was badly injured with cuts all over his face and could barely move when the girls dragged him out. Sugar was especially surprised and called his name out loud. This got his attention, as he looked at Sugar directly.

"How did you…know my name?" he asked wearily.

"That's not important!" Pepper said abruptly. "You said the monster is powered by candy. How can you prove that?"

"This place…was a candy-store. I must've come in here around four, and saw the monster, which was no smaller than a teddy-bear at the time, walking around and stuffing its face with candy. But the more it consumed…the bigger it grew, until the roof collapsed and everyone got out…except for me."

"Miloe's an honest person, so I trust him," Sugar said.

"Okay, I'll take your word for it, but how are we supposed to defeat a teddy Godzilla who just swallowed a ton of candy?!"

"With more candy!" A booming voice called as the roof was lifted away by the big, masculine hands of Commander Dandy.

"Commander Dandy! You're all right!" Sugar cried for joy.

"But where's the monster?" Pepper said, looking around.

"Right there!" Commander Dandy replied, gesturing to Plumpy as he was flopping on the ground. "I tricked him into tripping over himself, and he can't get up because he ate too much candy!"

"Thank you so much, Commander Dandy," Sugar said, nodding in gratitude. "I'm sorry I always burden you with things I should be doing, but your help is really appreciated."

Commander Dandy knelt at Sugar's feet, and held her hand. "As I said before, there is no need to thank me, for I only serve to protect you, Soldier Candy!"

"But why?" asked Pepper. "You've only known Soldier Candy for a few weeks!"

"I figure that if I protect her, I'll be one step closer to knowing where Princess Lolly is."

"Princess Lolly?" Hershey exclaimed, hopping up to Commander Dandy. "What do you know about her?"

"Guys, can these questions wait till _after_ we've defeated Plumpy?" Aroma said in a whispered shout.

While Commander Dandy stayed behind to look after Miloe, Sugar and the other three girls walked up to Plumpy, who was still struggling. They climbed up his foot and aimed their weapons at his face. His small black eyes widened in terror as he saw their weapons light up in white, orange, blue, and pink as they called out their attacks.

"Vanilla Petal Dance!" Crème cried, sending a gust of white petals at Plumpy's face, cutting it to ribbons.

"Cinnamon Fire Blast!" Pepper shouted, incinerating Plumpy's chest and head.

"Mint Ice Blizzard!" Aroma said, freezing Plumpy head to toe.

"Candy Kiss Explosion!" Sugar announced, and the monster was absorbed into the wand, leaving a ragged teddy bear in its place.

After landing on the ground, they quickly ran back to where Miloe and Commander Dandy were, but there was no sign of the Commander anywhere. This irritated Hershey and Pepper, while Sugar was left to feel heart-torn once more. But she tried not to show this to Miloe, while she helped him stand up and allowed Aroma to heal him.

"Who was that man in the pink suit?" Miloe asked, looking at Sugar.

"He's…Commander Dandy, a friend who helps me when I'm in trouble," Sugar replied, blushing slightly.

"And…who are you, and these other girls wearing similar uniforms?"

"We're the…"

"The Candy Brigade!" Crème interrupted, coming between Miloe and Aroma. "We came from Candyland to protect the earth against monsters who wish to destroy everything, and find the lost Princess who holds the key to saving our home-world!"

"So you're not from around here," Miloe chuckled as the ice melted away the pain. "Then how did you know my name, Miss…"

"Candy. Soldier Candy is my name," Sugar said nervously. "I'm friends with a girl at your school who…really likes you, and talks about you a lot."

"Is she close to me?"

"Sort of."

But the sound of the sirens drew Sugar and the others away as they left Miloe to be carried away on a stretcher. Soon the whole downtown area was crawling with fire fighters, news reporters, medical personnel, and so on. After leaving the downtown area, the girls quickly changed back into their regular selves and hitched a bus back to the school. There weren't any people on except for the driver, so they decided to talk, but in whispers.

"So before you forget, tell me as much as you can about Princess Lolly and what happened to her," Hershey said from inside the cooler.

Crème thought for a moment, and then she answered, "I remember after we arrived on earth, we decided to seal our powers and the Princess's away in case any of Lord Licorice's minions happened to follow us through the portal. But before we did that, we took the Princess to the hospital where the babies were kept, and we…sealed the Princess's powers, I think, but I don't remember what she looked like afterwards or which family we gave her to."

"She physically changed after her powers were sealed?" Sugar sighed. "And I thought we had narrowed it down to just searching for someone with purple hair."

"Well clearly, this isn't over yet," Hershey replied, looking at Crème. "Pepper said that the last two Soldiers were sisters, one was short and the other was tall. You're short, and you have a sister. That's why I told you about Soldier Candy when you first arrived in this town, because I knew you were a Soldier by those descriptions and your Scent."

Aroma suddenly understood, and put the pieces together. "Then that means…the last Soldier we need to awaken…is Crème's sister."

Hershey nodded. "Correct."

End of Chapter 6


	7. Chapter 7: The Sourness of Lemon

Chapter 7: The Sourness of Lemon!

As the air grew colder and the trees became bare, the tennis team didn't practice outside as much, and Sugar was no closer to figuring out the Scent of Crème's sister Meringue. Now that they were certain she was the last Soldier they needed to awaken, Sugar tried to find her at every possible free moment during school. But unfortunately, male admirers always surrounded her, including Duke, and Sugar wanted to avoid him as much as possible. So when Thanksgiving break arrived, Sugar resorted to asking Crème if she could come to her and Meringue's apartment for the holiday.

"My parents said it was ok," Sugar said assuredly.

"It's not getting your parents' permission that worries me," Crème said, looking down at her bracelet with miniature vanilla flowers. "It's my sister…I'm not sure she'll like you."

"What makes you think that?"

"She gets very sensitive around strangers, and if they make her feel uneasy, she'll immediately distrust them."

This made Sugar flinch. "That explains why she always rejects her admirers."

A few days later, it was Thanksgiving Day, and Sugar was riding the bus to a station that was near the apartment. She felt disappointed that Aroma and Pepper couldn't come, but that would've looked suspicious to Meringue. It was also for this reason that she didn't bring Hershey along either. At the bus-station, Crème and her sister, who was driving a white Nissan Versa, were waiting there. But she discovered upon entering the car that she wasn't alone.

"Surprise!" Pepper shouted.

Unintentionally, Sugar froze mid-way getting into the back seat.

"Are you getting in, or not?" Meringue asked, looking back from the driver's seat. She had a small, oval-shaped face with a sharp nose and almond-shaped eyes with light-brown pupils to contradict her long blond hair, which was the same shade as her sister's.

Sugar said nothing, and got in. The drive to the apartment was a silent one. When they got there, the two sisters immediately started making the dinner, while the other girls sat in the living room on the couch. Assuming that neither of them were listening, Sugar spoke to Aroma and Pepper in whispers.

"_You know, I could've handled this myself_," Sugar said.

"_We're sorry, Sugar_," Aroma apologized. "_Pepper thought it would be a good idea for us to come with you in case any monsters decide to attack this house._"

"_But why would they? Realistically, I think they would be attacking other places right now._"

Pepper sighed. "_I know, but I've noticed that every time a Soldier is about to awaken, a monster decides to show up_."

This didn't make Sugar feel any better. "_Maybe for you and Aroma, but not Crème! The monster appeared a few hours __**before **__she awakened, and it wasn't even in the vicinity!_"

"_But it showed up regardless! And if there were monsters roaming around, Hershey would've let us know by now._"

"_How? I left her at home._"

Just then, Sugar's cellphone rang. After glancing at the kitchen where Crème and Meringue were still occupied, she picked it up and answered. When she heard the other person's voice, her heart pattered.

"_Hello, Soldier Candy! It's Commander Dandy, and Hershey wants to talk to you!_"

"A-About what?" Sugar asked.

There was a shift of movement heard through the phone and some loud crashing noises, but Hershey managed to get on the phone. "_Sugar! Get down to your house! Something strange is happening!_"

"Well, Aroma and Pepper are with me, and we're kind of about to have dinner with Crème and her sister…"

"_Oh, good! If you can awaken Crème's sister before you get here, that would be great!_"

"Did you hear what I said? We're about to have **dinner**, and I think it would be **rude** if we just **left**!"

"_Make up an excuse, for Caramel's Sake! Think about what happened to Miloe when you hesitated to do your duty! The same thing could happen to your parents if you don't do something about it this instant!_"

An image of Miloe lying in the wreckage of the candy-store flashed in Sugar's mind. The thought made her heart feel heavy, and knew there was no way of getting around it. She stood up from the couch, which surprised everyone, and walked to the door.

"I'm sorry, Crème and Meringue, but I…think I forgot something at home," Sugar said turning the door handle.

"Would you like me to drive you?" Meringue asked.

"That would be nice, but not for this trip." And upon saying that, Sugar opened the door and closed it behind her.

Outside the apartment, she saw a strange storm was brewing overhead, and it seemed to be coming from the northern part of town where her house was. She contemplated taking a bus, but looking at the nearest bus stop told her that by the time they arrived, it would be too late. Then just as she was about to walk, someone tapped her on the shoulder. It was Pepper, and behind her were Aroma and Crème.

Sugar was perplexed. "What are you guys doing?"

"We're coming with you," Pepper said blatantly.

"Friends always stick together," Aroma said, stepping forward.

"And I figure that wherever you're going, there's trouble involved!" Crème proclaimed.

"What is going on?!"

The four girls looked behind, and saw Meringue storming towards them.

"Where are you girls going, and Crème, you should be helping me out in the kitchen! The Thanksgiving dinner isn't going to cook itself!"

"Calm down, sis," Crème said. "It's just macaroni & cheese."

Meringue didn't budge. "You made a big deal about it the other day, but clearly, you guys want to be somewhere else, and that pisses me off after all the preparations I've made."

"You don't understand!" Crème cried. "This is _really_ important!"

"What's more important than having Thanksgiving dinner with friends and family? That so-called thing Sugar left at her house?"

"Not really," Sugar said, stepping forward. "I got a call from my parents, and they sounded like they were in serious trouble, so I thought I would go check it out."

Meringue shrugged. "Can't you just call the police?"

Suddenly, a strong scent came into Sugar's nostrils, and she knew that this was definitely a magical Scent. She didn't smell it anywhere else, except on the person standing in front of her. It was sour, but sweet, like a fruit or something.

"The police…can't handle this situation, so I think it would be better if I took care of it." Sugar replied, and turned away. "As for my friends and your sister, they just want to help me out. It's nothing to get worked up about, Lemon."

This surprised Meringue. "What did you call me?"

"You have a lemony scent, and I couldn't help but notice that bracelet you're wearing with the lemons on it. It's similar to the ones we're wearing, so my guess is that you've already awakened."

"She's got us there, Meringue." A life-sized chocolate bunny suddenly appeared out of the bushes near the apartment, surprising everyone as it got on its hind-legs and sniffed the air. "Yep. These four are definitely members of the Candy Brigade, including Soldier Candy. This indicates that Hershey finally did make it here, but the Princess isn't among them."

"Who are you, and how do you know Hershey?" Sugar asked.

The chocolate bunny got back down on all fours and started to scratch its ears.

"I'm Kit Kat, another messenger for the King and Queen of Candyland, who was sent here a year ago when a Candyland portal opened in the house of Meringue and Crème when they lived in Canada. Upon orders, I awakened Meringue, giving her the powers of Soldier Lemon in order to fight the monsters that had escaped to roam Quebec City, and then we came down here to find the rest of the Brigade, and Princess Lolly."

"But why didn't you awaken me along with my sister?" Crème asked.

"Because I'm the leader of the Candy Brigade, it only seemed logical that I should be the first to awaken _without_ Soldier's Candy's recognition," Meringue answered. "You remember that, don't you?"

Crème thought about it, and then she nodded.

"I also recall what the Princess looked like after we sealed her powers."

This got the other girl's attention.

"But it may surprise all of you, especially Sugar."

Sugar was puzzled. "Why?"

"Do you want to know now, or wait till the crisis at your house is figured out?"

"Oh, yeah," Sugar considered the choices, and then she said, "Let's wait until after we've investigated what's going on at my house. Do you want to help?"

"No, I'll just wait here."

"Suit yourself, **fearless** leader," Pepper snorted.

Then as Meringue stood there, the four girls changed into their Soldier uniforms, and flew into the air with Crème holding her sword skyward while the other girls were holding the ribbons attached to it. But a sudden flash of lightning came from the source of the storm, making Kit Kat grow nervous, so Meringue picked him up and they went back into the apartment building.

"I don't think that was a wise decision, Meringue," Kit Kat said as they climbed the stairs. "What if Lord Licorice has finally decided to begin conquering earth?"

"But I closed the portal me and the Candy Brigade made when I defeated the monsters back in Canada," Meringue interjected. "So someone must've reopened it from this world, and the only ones capable of that are the Princess or the Duke of Swirl."

"Are you nuts? The Duke of Swirl swore to protect the Princess upon his engagement to her, and he would never do a thing like that! Plus, the Princess doesn't know her true heritage, having grown up in the human world, so _if_ she did, it was probably by accident."

"Then why did the Duke of Swirl follow us when he should've been helping the King? And the only way the Princess could've opened the portal by accident is if she played the Candyland board game, and what are the chances of that happening?" Meringue opened the window blinds, and watched the storm in the north as it was getting bigger and the lightning became more frequent. "Nevertheless, I do not wish to get involved in another fight, because I went through plenty of those in Canada. My only concern is protecting the Princess, who has yet to show herself."

"How can you say that when you know perfectly well who the Princess is?"

"The 'Princess' that you're referring to is merely a façade. I want to see the true Princess underneath, _before_ I take command of the Candy Brigade. However, looking at the storm those girls are heading towards, I can't help but wonder if the Princess will appear there, and if she does, I don't want to miss it."

Kit Kat sighed with relief, and watched as Meringue changed into her Soldier Lemon outfit. Her hair grew longer and more yellow, and it was tied into a ponytail by a white ribbon. Like the other girls, her outfit consisted of a yellow military short-sleeved shirt, a white tie and gloves with lemons on them, yellow shorts, white stockings, and yellow military boots with white lemons. Her weapon, which formed from her bracelet, was a whip made of white leather strips with a yellow handle. When she opened her eyes, they had gone from light brown to bright yellow. After the transformation, Kit Kat hopped onto her shoulder as she opened the window and jumped from rooftop to rooftop in the direction of the unusual lightning storm.

End of Chapter 7


	8. Chapter 8: Princess Lolly Appears

Chapter 8: Princess Lolly Appears!

As the storm grew worse, the Candy Brigade had a harder time gliding towards it. The people below were too scared to look up, and if they did, they dismissed it as a trick of the eye. But despite the weather, they did make it to Sugar's house, or what was left as a giant swirling black hole now occupied the space. There were candy monsters of all shapes and sizes surrounding the hole, while Commander Dandy and Hershey were nowhere to be seen. Her parents, on the other hand, were being dragged towards the hole by two monsters against their will, struggling and screaming.

"Mom! Dad!" Sugar cried, letting go of the ribbon and aimed the wand at the two monsters as she fell towards the ground. "Candy Kiss Explosion!"

Unfortunately, a monster made of taffy blocked the beam, and got hit by it instead as it turned into a person. Then Sugar fell onto the lawn in front of her house with a _thump_, rolling over in pain while the other girls circled downward. Pepper immediately loaded her Cinnamon Barrel Gun and started shooting at the monsters below, stunning them long enough to allow them to land. Sugar quickly got up despite the pain and made a path using the wand's beam to absorb the monsters in the way, and they also turned into people as she regrouped with her friends. While the normalized people scurried away, the monsters surrounded Sugar and the Candy Brigade on all sides.

"I don't care how many of you there are, but I won't stop fighting!" Sugar cried, holding her wand high above her. "Because I'm Soldier Candy!"

"Soldier Cinnamon!" Pepper said, clicking the gun.

"Soldier Mint!" Aroma held her Mint Spear in an offensive position.

"Soldier Vanilla!" Crème shouted, pointing her Vanilla Foil at the monsters.

"And Soldier Lemon!" Meringue said, jumping right into the center of the circle the girls formed. Then she took out her Lemon Whip, and spun it around the girls' heads. As it spun, electrical sparks jumped from it, then Meringue shouted, "Lemon Electrical Charge!"

Bolts of lightning leapt from the spinning whip as it electrocuted every single one of the monsters within the vicinity, followed by another Candy Kiss Explosion by Sugar. They fought their way out of the circle by attacking from all sides, while Sugar absorbed them all into her wand. However, when they saw that her parents were near the edge of the swirling hole, Crème immediately floated over to them and slashed the monsters' backs. However, they were made of Jell-O, so the sword went through them and slashed the parents' backs instead. They cried out in agony, and stumbled into the hole, which then turned white upon their entrance. Sugar saw this, and became as rigid as a statue. The other girls kept fighting, but the monsters didn't stay down for long.

"Candy!" Meringue shouted, protecting Sugar from an incoming cotton-candy monster with a lemon-shaped shield. "What's wrong with you? You're supposed to be absorbing these guys! Don't just stand there!"

"My parents…fell into that hole…" Sugar muttered, as her eyes started to water.

Meringue's eyes widened as she saw the blinding white hole, which also drew the attention of the other girls as they stopped. The monsters didn't attack them, and instead cheered. Crème, who was nearest, started to get sucked in as well, causing Meringue to jump over the monsters and grab her sister in mid-air as they were sucked into the hole as well. While Aroma and Sugar stared in horror, Pepper grabbed one of the smaller monsters, a human-sized jellybean, and pointed at gun at its head.

"What's going on, and what have you done with my friends?!" Pepper shouted.

"I-I-It's n-n-not our f-f-fault! Lord Licorice s-s-spoke to us and-and-and said he was g-g-going to c-c-come to earth! But the p-p-portal only o-o-opened on his s-s-side, that's why i-i-it was b-b-black, so he d-demanded that a pair of s-s-sacrifices be made to him," stuttered the jellybean monster.

"So you sacrificed the couple who lived in the house because they happened to be where the portal opened up. But why did my friends get sucked in as well?"

"T-T-They j-j-just happened to be h-h-hovering over the portal, which sucks in a-a-anyone who goes n-near it."

"Now was there a chocolate rabbit and a guy in a cape that were here, and where are they now?"

"A ch-chocolate r-r-rabbit! W-We thought it looked delicious, so we a-ate it!"

Pepper smacked the side of the jellybean's head with the butt of her gun.

"You carnivorous monster! What about the guy in the cape?"

"H-He put up quite a fight with that…candy-cane axe of h-his, but we were t-t-too much for him, so he r-r-ran away!"

"Where?"

"I-I-I don't know, I didn't see him leave!"

"You…killed my parents," Sugar's tears ran down her face as she spoke. "You took away my friends…and you ate…MY CHOCOLATE BUNNY!"

Suddenly, she started to emit a pink glow as she held the wand high, which glittered in white and pink sparkles. The other girls watched as she started to levitate into the air with her eyes closed. As the light fell on the monsters, they became afraid and backed away, while the portal was still glowing white. When her eyes opened, they were filled with anger and hatred for the monsters around her, as she gripped the wand with both hands and shouted, "CANDY KISS EXPLOSION!"

The white light that came from the wand was so bright that it enveloped the entire area. While the monsters fled, they were absorbed into the wand as tiny yellow lights. They were all people, as the girls got together and steered them away from the portal, which started to grow dim in the wand's light. It was then that a familiar face came stumbling out from a manhole in the middle of the street, covered in sewage water with his military cap nearly falling off his face. Naturally, the girls were surprised to see him. But Pepper wasn't happy, and smacked him across the face as he approached them.

"You're no Duke of Swirl at all, but a pathetic coward dressed in pink!" Pepper shouted.

"Commander Dandy is the Duke of Swirl?" Aroma was surprised. "But…why didn't I recognize him when I saw him?"

"His magic power is very strong, so he was able to hide his true identity even among us," Kit Kat explained. "But that gives him no excuse to leave the battle when he should've been protecting the Princess!"

"The Princess? You mean…" Aroma turned around, and looked up at Sugar.

But to her surprise, Sugar was changing right before her eyes. Her eyes had gone from brown to purple, and so did her hair, which also grew longer. The clothes she wore were not a pink military uniform, but a long white dress trimmed with lollipops, a thin rainbow-colored shawl, and purple slippers. Then to top off the transformation, her Lollipop Wand became rainbow-colored with a white stick instead of a pink one that extended down to her feet, and a shining tiara made of lollipops encircled Sugar's head.

"That's right," Kit Kat nodded. "When you guys sealed Princess Lolly's powers away, her hair went from purple to brown, along with her eyes. You left her at the hospital, where Mr. and Ms. Marmalade found her and raised her as their own, while you sealed your powers and went separate ways until Hershey would awaken the Princess' powers when she was old enough to receive them."

"But Hershey, who had never seen the Princess in her sealed state, didn't automatically recognize Sugar as the Princess, so she gave the Lollypop Wand to her when Sugar unintentionally reopened the portal playing Candyland, allowing the monsters from Candyland to escape to this world after they had ravaged our own," Aroma realized.

"That's why I came here," Commander Dandy said, catching the girls' attention. "To protect the Princess. I tried to follow you when you left, but the portal closed before I could. So I waited, knowing Lord Licorice had predicted that the Princess would reopen the portal from the other side. Naturally, I didn't want to believe it. But when the portal opened, I took the opportunity and went to this world. Then sensing her presence at the school, I became a student by the name of 'Duke'.

I became acquainted with Sugar, though with a rough introduction, and as I sensed the monsters roaming the town, I became Commander Dandy to stop them, only to find Soldier Candy. I had heard from prophecies that Soldier Candy was the key to defeating Lord Licorice, and knew she was connected to the Princess somehow. So I constantly protected her, hoping to find answers. As for the reason I fled…my powers were dwindling, and I didn't want Soldier Candy to find out my identity as 'Duke', otherwise it would put him in danger, just like that blonde boy she has a crush on."

"Miloe?" Aroma inquired.

"How did you know she has a crush on him?" Pepper asked.

"I could tell by the way she looked at him," Dandy replied. But before he could say more, the cap came off, and he fell face-first onto the street.

"What are you all doing just standing there?" The girls looked up at Sugar, or Princess Lolly now. Her voice was almost like Sugar's, only more refined and with a sterner tone. "Pick him up, and follow me to the portal. It will close if we don't leave now!"

Pepper lifted Commander Dandy up without too much trouble, and carried him to the portal, which was starting to shrink as the white light continued to shine from Princess Lolly's lollipop staff. All the people that had been released after being possessed by the monsters stared in awe as the three girls and chocolate bunny walked up to the portal and jumped down into it. As soon as they were inside, the portal swirled shut, leaving a charred house and circle of fire as the lawn was suddenly ignited.

End of Chapter 8


	9. Chapter 9: Welcome to Candyland

Chapter 9: Welcome to Candyland!

As the portal closed above them, Aroma, Pepper, and Princess Lolly were falling down towards a green valley covered in delicious sweets of different kinds and a multi-colored road wound its way across, through lollipop forests, molasses swamps, gumdrop mountains, and a smooth ice cream sea glowed in the distance underneath a dark cloudy sky. Off to their right stood the ruins of a castle made of cake, while on their left loomed a towering black and red licorice castle with bats circling it. Below them, they saw Crème and Meringue holding onto Sugar's parents as Crème attempted to glide them to safety over a crowd of monsters on the ground, with four women surrounding a sinister-looking man at the center, who looked up at them in surprise.

"Lord Licorice," Pepper muttered, and felt Commander Dandy slipping out of her grasp.

"This isn't good," Princess Lolly said, surveying the ground. "We're too vulnerable."

"And we have to think about the safety of your parents."

Princess Lolly scuffed. "They're Sugar's adopted parents, not mine."

"But you're Sugar, aren't you?"

"Sugar was merely a personality that was created due to the environment she grew up in. But when Sugar saw her parents and comrades fall into the portal, she was overcome with grief. The final push was learning the death of Hershey, who she secretly longed to consume, and emotionally snapped, which ironically awakened the true power of the Lollypop Wand. Thus, her transformation into me, Princess Lolly."

"A split personality," Pepper renewed her grip on Commander Dandy, and took her Cinnamon Barrel Gun out with her free hand. "It doesn't matter! They're still people, and they'll die if we don't do something!"

"Well which do _you_ think is more important, Soldier Cinnamon? My life or theirs?"

"Yours, of course, but—

"Then why are you arguing with me? Tell Vanilla and Lemon to let them go!"

Pepper frowned, but placed her arms at her sides so that she could fall lower, letting go of Commander Dandy in the process, and Princess Lolly grabbed him. Crème and Meringue were initially surprised to see her, but Pepper was more interested in Sugar's parents. They were unconscious, and were bleeding from the scars on their backs.

She cleared her throat and said, "Sugar…Princess Lolly…has ordered me to tell you to let go of Sugar's parents."

"Sugar was Princess Lolly?" Crème said with shock. "Well, I guess that does explain a lot of things, but why would she ask us to do such a thing?"

"It doesn't matter why. If the Princess ordered it, we have no choice but to obey," Meringue said, letting go of Mr. Marmalade.

Crème quickly glided down to catch him, but Meringue took her Lemon Whip out and used it to bind Crème, which prevented her from gliding any closer. But as if on instinct, one of the brown ribbons from the fencing foil suddenly expanded and tied itself around Mr. Marmalade's waist before he fell into the pit of monsters, while the other ribbon wrapped around Ms. Marmalade. Feeling surprised and relieved by this series of convenient events, Crème raised the foil once more and flew forward at a speed that was so great that Meringue was pulled along. The others saw this, but could not move.

Aroma then pointed her Mint Spear at the incoming ground and said, "Mint Ice Blizzard!"

The monsters directly below and within a five-mile radius were covered in ice, which made Lord Licorice's eyes widen as Aroma and the others touched down. But as the other monsters closed in, Pepper and Aroma fought back, holding off the monsters as much as possible. Meanwhile, Princess Lolly, who was carrying Commander Dandy, suddenly dropped him and raised her staff with the rainbow-colored lollipop on it. It glowed white, and was building up such a powerful surge that nearby monsters fled from the scene, and the four women guarding Lord Licorice immediately formed a human wall between him and the Princess.

When the white surge was at its peak, Princess Lolly shouted, "Candy Rainbow Beam!"

A burst of rainbow-colored light exploded from the lollipop and vaporized every single frozen and fleeing monster within sight. However, one of the four women had created a magical barrier made of icy winds, causing the rainbow light to deflect outwards. Behind them, Lord Licorice was flying away on a cloud made of bats. Pepper noticed this and fired a few rounds, but the bats managed to get in the way of the bullets and fell like black stones from the sky.

As for Crème and Meringue, they were now flying over a field of sugarcoated nuts after passing the gumdrop forest. Meringue, knowing that Crème wasn't going to give up, concentrated and said, "Lemon Electrical Charge!"

This caused a circuit of electricity to run down the rope and electrocute Crème, causing her to drop Sugar's parents and fall. But the whip's grip held strong, leaving an unconscious Crème hanging as Meringue soon realized her mistake, and was falling to the ground with her. Then, an unexpected thing happened: two of the nuts from the field suddenly grew, till they were the size of houses, and cracked themselves open as if by magic, revealing hollow insides. The parents fell inside one nut, while Crème and Meringue fell into another, then they closed up and rolled towards a small house on the edge of the field, made of peanut butter brittle. There, an old woman with curly red hair with grey highlights in a bun wearing a faded blue cotton dress with white polka dots came out of the house and waved her hands over the nuts. Like obedient guard dogs, they opened their insides, causing Crème, Meringue, and Sugar's parents to fall out.

The old woman's dark eyebrows went up in surprise. "I know you two."

"Gramma Nutt," Meringue said looking up in awe. "You're alive! But how come your house and fields haven't been destroyed by Lord Licorice or the monsters yet?"

At that, Gramma Nutt's cheeks turned red and she made a heartwarming chuckle. "Just as those two nuts snatched you, they'll snatch anything that moves, including monsters, and keep them trapped in there till they starve to death. As for Lord Licorice, he said as long as I give him advice and foretell his future, he won't destroy this land."

"But you do you actually trust his word? He's a double-crosser! That's how he took over Candyland, and **you** failed to warn the King in time!"

Gramma Nutt shrugged. "I warned him the moment Princess Lolly was born, and he simply didn't listen. But seeing you and Vanilla here, I guess the prophecy is coming true after all, with some unexpected elements thrown in."

Seeing that she was referring to Sugar's parents, Meringue got up and helped Gramma Nutt carry them into the house. Apart from melting furniture and chocolate shavings coming off the walls, the inside was mostly empty and quaint. They lay the parents down on a king-sized bed wrapped in gold and brown tin sheets, and then went back out to bring Crème in. After putting her on the green icing couch covered in plastic, Meringue tried to revive her while Gramma Nutt quickly made a cup of hot chocolate with nutmeg powder sprinkled on top. Meringue forced Crème's mouth open so she could drink it, and woke up coughing as the nutmeg spice kicked in.

"What…happened?" Crème asked, rubbing the back of her head, then she saw Grandma Nutt and smiled. "Gramma Nutt!"

She smiled in response.

"What about Sugar's parents? They were wounded during the battle in the real world by my sword, accidently," Crème looked down in shame. "I hope they're all right."

"I don't know who this 'Sugar' is, but don't worry about the other folks. I'll see to their injuries and heal them properly. Meanwhile, you should drink the rest of that nutmeg-covered hot chocolate. It'll ease the pain."

At that, Crème suddenly hissed from the pain she felt as the electricity's sting was still strong, and Meringue looked away.

"You know I have always been protective of you, and it was for this reason that I didn't tell you about my secret identity back in Quebec. It was out of concern that a monster might hurt you, or potentially kill you. I was only following orders, but now I realize that the monster I've tried to keep you out of harm's way from…was myself."

"Don't say that, sister!" Crème shouted. "You didn't mean to hurt me, and you were only doing what you thought was right."

"Is hurting ones sister okay? Is harming innocent people, even by accident, okay?"

"Well, no, but neither of us should linger on them. Sure, I feel just as guilty for hurting Sugar's parents just as you are of hurting me, but if we're to save Candyland, we need to look past our mistakes and move on."

After that, both were silent as Crème drank the rest of her nutmeg-covered hot chocolate, and Gramma Nutt put Nutella cream mixed with minty herbs on the backs of Sugar's parents, who were still unconscious, but breathing unevenly. Meringue sat near the blinds, and glanced outside occasionally. She wanted to be with the Princess and protecting her, but she also knew that she needed to be with her sister, Sugar's parents, and Gramma Nutt to protect them from harm if Lord Licorice was already onto their location.

End of Chapter 9


	10. Chapter 10: Gramma Nutt Takes a Stand

**Warning: There's a lot of exposition in this chapter! Sorry!**

Chapter 10: Gramma Nutt Takes a Stand and Reunion!

"So let me get this straight," Gramma Nutt said, sitting with Meringue and Crème at a table made of peanut butter brittles. "When you got to the other realm, which is known as Earth by the inhabitants, you sealed the Princess's powers away as well as yours. This in turn erased your memories and stopped the natural aging process as you four wondered the world for sixteen years until the Princess, now known as Sugar, received the Lollypop Wand after she accidently opened the portal to this world, which gave the monsters an opportunity to wreck havoc and prepare for Lord Licorice's arrival. But she was able to transform into Soldier Candy and absorb these monsters into the wand, which were eradicated inside, and that was when the four of you instinctively showed up. She recognized the magical Scents you left, which activated your powers and made you remember who you were."

"Except for me," Meringue interrupted. "I already knew who I was before I met Soldier Candy, because I gave that ability of recognition to Kit Kat, who appeared out of the portal, which was still open from the time we took the Princess to Earth. But I was able to close it somehow, even though I don't have royal blood."

"I can explain that. After you four left with the Princess, the King, Queen, and Duke of Swirl went into hiding. You know what happened to me, but I kept them informed through secret messages. Lord Licorice was rallying the monsters and he eventually convinced them to go into the portal, which had shifted to a different location on the other side because it was drawn to you and Crème's power, even though they were dormant. Then when I mentioned the invasion, the Duke of Swirl immediately went out into the open and used his power to seal the portal up, which got him captured in the end."

"The Duke of Swirl got captured?" Crème was confused. "Then how was he able to get to Earth and aid the Princess?"

Gramma Nutt looked down. "I…had predicted that the Princess was going to open the portal from the other side, and Lord Licorice would rule the other realm. He jumped for joy when he heard this, but I hoped that it wouldn't come true. But when the portal was reopened, the Duke of Swirl made a deal with Lord Licorice to bring the Princess to him once the second invasion was underway."

"So he helped Soldier Candy in order to find the Princess, and gain her trust so that she wouldn't suspect his intention to kidnap her. But he got severely weakened during the second invasion, and that was also when Soldier Candy transformed into Princess Lolly. He was out cold when this happened, as she alone halted the invasion and closed the portal. But now that we're back here with the Princess, the Duke of Swirl is in serious danger because he couldn't keep his promise."

Just then, a fluttering of wings caught their attention, and they looked outside. Beyond the field was a looming cloud made of bats, and there was one person standing on top of it. His fluttering black cape and red hair told Meringue that it was Lord Licorice. She took out her Lemon Whip, and Crème did the same with her Vanilla Foil.

"Wait," Gramma Nutt said, halting them. "Let me talk to him. In the meantime, head for the basement. There's an underground passage that'll take you inside the Gumdrop Forest, and from there you can get back to the others."

"But Gramma, you know he'll kill you once your treachery has been unveiled!" Meringue said, looking at her.

"Yeah! Come with us!" Crème replied.

"I thank you for the kind offer, but I'm old, and I'll probably slow you down," Gramma Nutt smiled, and walked out the door. "And besides, why would he kill his own mother?"

The door slammed shut. Meringue and Crème wasted no time, and went down the stairs to the basement. Sure enough, there was an underground passage behind a pantry door with a cake symbol on the door handle, and a map lying in a hidden alcove on the other side of the door. Marmalade-filled lanterns lighted the passage itself and the walls were coated in chocolate shell. As they navigated down the passage, they heard explosions above, but continued without looking back.

Back in the field surrounded by the Gumdrop Forest, Pepper and Aroma were dismayed that Lord Licorice had gotten away, and were now facing the four women who were the only ones left, as all the other monsters had been destroyed by Princess Lolly's magic staff. She was currently trying to break through the icy barrier that one of the women created, which was starting to weaken as the woman was becoming exhausted. She had long white hair with blue highlights, and wore a long blue and white dress with a sparkling tiara made of snowflakes. The energy for the barrier seemed to be coming from a white staff she carried with a large snowflake on top of it.

"Frostine," Aroma muttered, suddenly recognizing the woman.

Then the woman, Frostine, noticed her, and the barrier was automatically eradicated. But the rainbow beam coming from Princess Lolly's staff didn't stop, and the four women were blasted into the air. Quickly, another woman snapped her fingers, and a large dragon with wings made of chocolate-covered wafers appeared underneath them. They landed on it, and flew away without a moment's notice. The three girls watched them leave, while Kit Kat found a red gumball near the place where the four women were, and ate it.

"You knew that person?" Pepper asked, picking up Commander Dandy.

"Yes, but I don't know why," Aroma said, hugging her Mint Spear close to her.

"If you two weren't so busy trying to shoot Lord Licorice down, you could've helped me defeat those four women before they got away!" Princess Lolly shouted, stomping her staff impatiently.

"And what if we had protected you? Lord Licorice might've had a clear shot and killed you while we had our backs turned to him!" Pepper said, storming up to Princess Lolly.

"Kill me? Give me one good reason why he would do that!"

"You have something that he desperately wants." Pepper glared at Princess Lolly, and tapped the lollipop at the end of her staff. "The King told us before we took you away that you had been bestowed with the Rainbow Pop Staff, a relic that had been passed down through the Candyland Queens for generations. It's power is said to be so great that it could destroy Candyland if its user wished it, and that was the reason Lord Licorice went to war against the Candyland King."

"So the Lollypop Wand that Sugar had been using up until now…was a toned-down version of the Rainbow Pop Staff?" Aroma asked.

"No," Meringue said, as she and Crème came out of the forest. "The Rainbow Pop Staff was within the Princess all along, but the Lollypop Wand was a different tool altogether. It acted as a medium for the Rainbow Pop Staff's power, until the Princess manifested, and that was when the Lollypop Wand transformed into the Rainbow Pop Staff."

"Meringue! Crème!" Aroma cried, and hugged them both. "I'm so glad you're alive!"

"But where are Sugar's parents?" Pepper asked.

"They're with Gramma Nutt and…she's being attacked by Lord Licorice," Crème was suddenly overcome with even more guilt than she was before.

"We've got to get over there and help her! Sugar's parents might get killed if Gramma Nutt fails to fend Lord Licorice off!" Pepper said, charging towards the direction Meringue and Crème came from, but Princess Lolly stopped her.

"You said my life was more important than theirs, right?" Princess Lolly said, looking between Pepper and the forest in front of them. "Therefore, their lives are of no concern to us, and if Gramma Nutt can keep Lord Licorice distracted long enough, we might have enough time to make it to his palace and take out those four women, who are clearly his generals, before he gets back."

"How can you be so cruel?" Crème shouted, getting everyone's attention. "When I swore to protect you when you were a baby, I thought you were going to be a kind, sympathetic Princess who never left anybody out! But now I see that my pledge was pointless. You're cold-hearted, rude, and you only care about your own safety!"

Those words lay a heavy silence over the whole group. But the one who was the least phased by them was ironically the Princess herself. Instead, she fainted, and was bathed in white light as her hair and clothes changed back into Soldier Candy. While this was going on, Kit Kat was shaking all over as he magically grew bigger and bulkier. The girls watched as both transformations occurred, and were left with more questions than answers.

End of Chapter 10


	11. Chapter 11: The Healing of Chocolate

**Hey, sorry I haven't posted new chapters for a while! I've been on a trip to California for the past two weeks, and I just got back!**

Chapter 11: The Healing Quality of Chocolate!

After both transformations were complete, Kit Kat looked at the girls with eyes that were blood red and beastly. He charged at them on all fours, which took them by surprise. But Meringue stepped forward and shouted, "Lemon Swirl Shield!"

The shield was activated, but it proved to be a challenge for Meringue as Kit Kat continually batted against it with his sharpened claws. Meanwhile, the other girls dragged Sugar out of the way, and placed her behind a tree at the edge of the clearing. Then while Pepper proceeded to load her Cinnamon Barrel Gun, Aroma noticed and firmly placed her hand on the shaft. Pepper stared at her in confusion.

"What are you doing? Do you want Meringue to get killed?" Pepper asked.

"Let me try to heal him first, then shoot him if he doesn't change back." Aroma explained.

Pepper stiffened, but reluctantly lowered her gun as she stepped aside to allow Aroma a clear shot at Kit Kat. Meringue was starting to back up from the force of the blows that Kit Kat gave her, and her face looked contorted. But the creature that was Kit Kat didn't stop, as it started to snap its sharpened teeth at the shield as well. Aroma's hand shook as she aimed the Mint Spear at Kit Kat, but strongly recited, "Mint Breath Refreshment!"

A cool breeze hit Kit Kat's back, causing the creature to freeze. It stopped attacking Meringue, as she retreated some distance from Kit Kat, and allowed the shield to falter. Like Pepper, she had the initiative to attack Kit Kat, so she let her Lemon Whip unroll itself and gripped the handle firmly. Meanwhile, Crème watched Sugar, who didn't seem to stir despite the loud growling noises Kit Kat made.

"Sugar, wake up!" Crème said, shaking Sugar's shoulder. "You've got to wake up! The others are in danger!"

At that moment, Kit Kat turned away from Meringue and focused on Aroma, and stumbled towards her at an increasingly rapid pace. Aroma frowned, but kept calm as she shouted, "Mint Ice Blizzard!" which froze Kit Kat where he stood. This made Meringue sigh with relief, while Pepper aimed her gun at Kit Kat.

"No! Don't shoot him!" Aroma cried, stepping in front of the frozen statue.

"But you said that if your healing ice-thing didn't work, then I could shoot him," Pepper said, not intending to lower gun. "How long will that ice hold?"

"I don't know, but that beast is still Kit Kat, and without him, we'll be completely lost in Candyland!"

"Aren't you forgetting that we used to live here? Besides, if your power can't bring Kit Kat back to normal, then the only other person who can is Sugar, and she's out right now! So we've gotta keep this monster stunned for as long as possible, but if Sugar doesn't wake up soon, he might kill us all if we don't kill him first!"

Just then, the ice started to fragment, and Pepper put her index finger on the trigger. But to Crème's surprise, Sugar started to wake up. Her eyelids fluttered, and they first fell on her Lollypop Wand, which was starting to glow pink with brown sparkles. She briefly stared at Crème, and then she stood up. As if in a trance, she ignored Aroma and Pepper despite their surprised looks and aimed her wand at Kit Kat, who was starting to break through the ice.

"Candy Chocolate Therapy!" Sugar shouted, and sent a swirling wave of chocolate mixed with pink that wrapped itself around Kit Kat, causing him to cry out as he shrunk. But when the chocolate swirl hardened, the ice melted underneath, and Kit Kat, now back to his normal size ate his way out with a happy smile on his face.

"Kit Kat!" Meringue nearly tripped as she picked Kit Kat up. "What happened to you? I was so worried!"

"I don't know," Kit Kat replied, licking his teeth. "I remember eating a red candy that was right by where Lord Licorice's generals stood, and then everything went blank."

Aroma scratched her chin. "That's strange. I wonder if the candy had something to do with the transformation."

"I'm so sorry, guys." Kit Kat said, lowering his ears.

"Don't blame yourself," Pepper said, patting the chocolate bunny's head. "You had no control over yourself."

"Can someone please tell me what's going on?" Sugar suddenly said, drawing everyone's attention.

As the girls traveled back to Gramma Nutt's house through the secret passage, they took turns explaining to Sugar what had happened since she got mad over Hershey being eaten and her parents' 'deaths'. She seemed to take most of it in pretty well, but when Crème described Princess Lolly's plan to abandon her parents, she frowned. When they got into the basement, they found the floor above them to be completely gone, exposing a nearly destroyed house above. They ran up the broken stairs, and found Gramma Nutt lying on the bed between Sugar's still-unconscious parents in a moaning state, while Lord Licorice floated above the house on his platform of bats. They squeaked when they noticed the girls, causing him to turn and look down at them.

He was a tall, skinny man with twisty red hair that ran down to his shoulders, and a wide-brimmed black hat that nearly reached the length of his long, pointy nose. His ruby-red eyes gleamed as his tiny mouth grinned, making his red goatee stretch. Then to top off his malicious look, he wore a black cape that fluttered in the wind over a scarlet top with black trousers, red stockings, and shiny black pointed shoes. Without saying a word, he waved his hand over the bats, and a group of them swept over Sugar's parents, picking them up by the sleeves of their shirts, and followed Lord Licorice as he flew away.

"He got away from me before, but he won't get away this time!" Pepper said, and fired her gun, saying, "Cinnamon Double Rounds!"

The bullets flew straight into the air, but they didn't hit Lord Licorice as some of the bats blocked them. Irritated, Pepper tried the Cinnamon Fire Blast, but it couldn't go no further than ten feet, and Lord Licorice was higher and farther away by that point. So while Pepper and Meringue wanted to go after him, Aroma reminded them that they needed to attend to Gramma Nutt first, who was still in pain. Aroma used her spear for another Mint Breath Refreshment, which healed the scratches and bruises on Gramma Nutt, but she was still moaning.

"Let me try," Sugar said, and used her new power on Gramma Nutt.

After the chocolate swirl covered Gramma Nutt, there was silence. Then there came a friendly laughter inside, and Gramma Nutt punched through the chocolate shell despite her frail appearance. She looked good as new, and less weary than when Crème and Meringue visited her. They all hugged her, and explained Sugar's predicament.

"It's a good thing that we came," Sugar said, but sighed. "If only we could've saved my parents sooner, and…wait, where's Commander Dandy?"

"Shoot!" Crème said. "We left him back at the clearing!"

At that moment, a terrifying roar brought the girls' attention to the forest beyond the field of nuts. It was the dragon the four generals got onto in order to get away from Princess Lolly, flying towards the castle made of licorice with the women still riding it. In its claws, it was carrying something that was limp and human-like. It didn't take long for Sugar to guess what it was.

"They took him," Sugar said, watching the dragon with teary eyes. "They're going to take him to that palace and do horrible things to him. I guess the same thing's going to happen my parents once Lord Licorice catches up to them."

She broke down crying, and to the girls' surprise, the same white light from before came over her again, changing her back into Princess Lolly.

"It's happening again," Aroma said.

"A Princess of two minds," Gramma Nutt said musingly. "I may know a lot of things about the future, but this proves that I don't know everything."

Once the transformation was complete, Princess Lolly opened her eyes, and glared at the girls around her. She didn't say anything as she got up and watched the flying dragon, the faint cloud of bats, and the dark licorice castle both things were heading towards. None of the girls responded, fearing what she might say, but after a few minutes, she spoke.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Princess Lolly asked, gripping her Rainbow Pop Staff tightly. "Let's go to the Licorice Castle and rescue the Duke of Swirl, and Sugar's parents!"

End of Chapter 11


	12. Chapter 12: Battle of Wits

**Hi everyone! Sorry I haven't been updating this fanfiction much! Been caught up in my other fanfic and now I've come to a good stopping point so I can focus more on this one!**

Chapter 12: A Battle of Wits!

After two days of travel through the Gumdrop Forests and the Molasses Swamp, Princess Lolly and the rest of the Candy Brigade finally reached the Licorice Palace. Up close, the palace loomed tall before the girls, with black and red licorice weaved together so tight to look like stone walls, and the overcast sky was darker here. While the Princess looked up at the foreboding entrance with confidence, the others weren't.

"This place is a lot scarier than it looks from a distance," Aroma said, standing behind Meringue.

"Well it's too late to turn back now," Meringue replied, stepping away from Aroma. "So you'd better toughen up."

"Aren't you being a bit too harsh, big sister?" Crème whined. "You and Princess Lolly are so mean sometimes!"

"We've been over this before," Meringue glared at Crème. "I'm only doing what's right for all of us."

"Quit complaining back there! We have a country to save, you know!" Princess Lolly snapped, making everyone silent.

"If you're so impatient, Princess, then why don't you lead us inside?" Pepper said, folding her arms.

"How should I know how to get in? I've never been to the Licorice Palace before!"

"You could make us an entrance with that big fancy lollipop of yours."

"It's the Rainbow Pop Staff, thank you very much, and it could easily break through this wall!" Then without further delay, Princess Lolly aimed the staff at the wall, and shouted, "Candy Rainbow Beam!"

The blast of rainbow light shattered the licorice wall completely, leaving a gaping hole. Without delay, the girls ran through the hole and found themselves in a crimson-lit hallway with Jolly-Ranchers for lamps, and red licorice interior walls with smooth taffy carpeting. A flash of electric-blue caught Princess Lolly's eye, and she immediately ran to the right, with the others behind her. But once they rounded a corner, there was no sign of Princess Lolly, and the only person there was a girl who looked to be about Meringue's age, with white bubblegum earrings in her electric-blue hair wearing a matching electric-blue dress with pink, white, and yellow polka-dots, and light-blue clogs. She smiled at them serenely, and produced a handful of different-colored bubblegum candies from her left hand.

"Welcome to the Licorice Palace, Candy Brigade! Would you like some gum?" she asked politely.

"You were one of the women who protected Lord Licorice when he tried to attack us!" Meringue exclaimed, causing the other girls to look at her.

"I would prefer you address him as 'King' Licorice, since he is in charge of Candyland now," the blue-haired girl clenched her fist over the candies she offered. "And yes, I was one of the women who protected him during that unnecessary attack on your party. I am Bubblegum, one of his four generals."

"I thought so," Meringue said to herself.

"What did you do with the Princess? And why are you being so honest with us?" Pepper asked.

Bubblegum smiled again. "The Princess is fine. She's just been taken to King Licorice's throne room, where they'll have a long 'diplomatic' talk, and the reason I'm being honest is because…you're all gonna die soon."

Before any of them could react, Bubblegum squeezed the candies till they broke, causing them to emit a cloud of gas that spread quickly throughout the entire hallway and made the girls cough and gag as the poisonous vapor entered their lungs. They soon found themselves struggling to stand, and their vision went blurry. Then the last thing any of them saw was Bubblegum standing over them with a malicious grin that shone through a thin taffy mask she wore over her mouth.

Meringue was the first to wake up, and she found herself in a dark room strapped to a chair made of gingerbread with her hands and legs tied by licorice-woven strings. A life-sized chessboard suddenly became visible under a bright light that shone from the ceiling, complete with chess pieces molded from black and cream-white Jell-O. Then a second light turned on, and showed Bubblegum sitting in a similar chair with her hands and legs also bound up. She smiled as Meringue tried to free herself.

"There's no point in struggling," Bubblegum said calmly. "The chairs are glued to the floor with taffy, and those ropes that bind you can't be broken unless I order them to be broken."

"Why did you bring me here, and where are the others?" Meringue asked, still wiggling.

"I wanted to play a little game with you," Bubblegum nodded to the chessboard, and continued to speak. "As for your friends, they have been taken to different rooms inside the Licorice Palace to be dealt with by the other generals."

"And where is here?"

"This is the ballroom, which also serves as a game-room for children and adults to play life-sized Candy Chess. But for this particular game, I've added a deadly element to make it more exciting. Every time you lose, those licorice ropes that bind you will grow tighter, and every time you win, the straps on my chair will grow tighter, until one of us explodes."

"You're sick."

"I prefer the term 'genius', now let's begin. Since your pieces are white, you move first."

Immediately, Meringue ordered the Foot Soldiers (Pawns), which were represented as walking M&Ms, to all move forward one space. The pieces responded by jumping into the air and landing on the space in front of them on the board. Bubblegum responded by doing the same, and all her Foot Soldiers moved in the same fashion as Meringue's. After a few moves where both sides advanced slowly towards each other, Meringue decided to bring out the Warrior (Knight), who bore a strong resemblance to the Duke of Swirl, to the field. This didn't affect Bubblegum's mood as she calmly allowed her Foot Soldiers to be killed by the Warrior, which moved in a zigzag fashion across the board, swinging the axe it carried left and right. Then at an intersection of black spaces, Bubblegum made her Wall (Rook), which resembled a chocolate bar, smash into the Warrior, knocking it clear off the board along with Meringue's own Wall.

Flinching from the tightening of the ropes, Meringue shouted, "Warrior in the back, move right!"

The Warrior who was next to Bubblegum's Chocolate Wall immediately moved and knocked it out. But Bubblegum only smiled and made her second Chocolate Wall crash into that Warrior. Meringue responded by having her Wise Sage (Bishop), represented as Gramma Nutt, move every other black space and knock out Bubblegum's Chocolate Wall. However, Bubblegum showed no sign of pain as the ropes tightened on her chair, and ordered the remaining Foot Soldiers to move forward once again. After a few small banters, Meringue managed to check Bubblegum's Monarch (King), resembling the Candyland King, with one of her Wise Sages. Then Bubblegum retaliated by using her Lady (Queen), which looked like the Candyland Queen, to fire a beam of light from her Rainbow Pop Staff. As Meringue's Wise Sage was destroyed, the ropes tightened to the point where Meringue's wrists were turning red.

"What's the matter? Getting tired?" Bubblegum asked nonchalantly.

"If these ropes are supposed to be tightening…then why aren't you…showing…pain?" Meringue's head suddenly began to hurt, making her dizzy and lose focus.

"I've had to endure pain much worse than this, ever since I was a little girl. My father wanted me to become a Soldier, just like you, and so he put me through vigorous training. But then when the Candyland monsters got loose, he was killed, so I could not fulfill what he wanted, until King Licorice came to me. He said he was going to make me a Soldier, but to do that, I would have to kill you girls."

"Wall, attack the Lady!" Meringue ordered, causing the Lady to be knocked off the board. "You realize Licorice is just using you. He's not actually going to grant your wish."

"I know, but I don't care. At least I'm being useful for someone else's goals." Then Bubblegum told her Wise Man to move forward, placing it in front of Meringue's Monarch. "Check."

"You have pretty shallow expectations, for being so smart," Meringue said, and then said, "Monarch, move three spaces to your right!"

The Monarch bounced three spaces over. Afterwards, Bubblegum attempted to take out Meringue's remaining pieces, but she managed to put them out of harm's way, and only attacked Bubblegum's when there were no other pieces waiting to take out hers. This irritated Bubblegum, as the ropes continued to tighten on her chair, while Meringue managed to avoid it. But eventually, her pieces were driven into spots that she couldn't get out of, and her Monarch was once again in check.

"There's no point in prolonging it," Bubblegum said, gritting through her teeth. "You're gonna die, right now."

"No! YOU'RE the one who is gonna die!" Meringue cried, despite the immense throbbing in her legs and arms. She ordered her Lady to move diagonally across from the Monarch. "Check."

Bubblegum in turn ordered her Monarch to move three spaces to the right. But Meringue countered by moving her Wall right next to the Monarch. Then Bubblegum ordered her Monarch to move forward, but it was only met by three incoming Foot Soldiers, who all jumped one space ahead to confront the Monarch at Meringue's command.

"Checkmate!" Meringue said, just as the ropes became so tight on Bubblegum's chair that she did indeed explode, causing all her body parts to fly through the air.

But when one of them hit Meringue in the face, she realized it was bits of cherry-red gum. Then when she tried to get out of her chair, it still wouldn't budge, and the ropes didn't appear to loosen. The lights then dimmed on the chess board and the empty chair, but the light over Meringue's chair stayed lit as soft clapping noises came towards her. When Meringue looked up, she saw that it was Bubblegum, with every part of her intact.

"Very impressive, no one has ever beat me at Candy Chess before," Bubblegum said, and held up a candy necklace bound with a thin string of licorice. "But unfortunately, I like to plan ahead of my enemies."

Then in one swift motion, Bubblegum placed the necklace on Meringue, which emitted crimson sparks once it was on her neck. Meringue jolted and twitched in her chair, until her head nodded downward. Next, Bubblegum snapped her fingers, which caused the licorice ropes that bound Meringue to vanish, but Meringue didn't move.

"Now rise, and follow me," Bubblegum said.

End of Chapter 12


	13. Chapter 13: An Unfair Fight

Chapter 13: An Unfair Fight!

When Crème woke up, she found herself in a large, crimson-lit hallway with black pillars scattered across a black and red-tiled floor. Then suddenly, a screeching noise came towards her rapidly, and she quickly jumped out of the way from it, before an explosion followed shortly afterwards. The blast made her ears ring, but they didn't completely deafen her from the loud, cackling laughter that shortly followed. Her legs were shaky, but she still managed to stand and pick up her Vanilla Foil.

"What are you laughing about? You could've killed me with that thing you threw!" Crème shouted, looking around. "Are you an enemy?"

"Of course, silly," said an obnoxious female voice. "Why else did I throw that Jaw Grenade at you?"

"Who are you? Why don't you show yourself?"

"I prefer to attack my enemies in the shadows. My name's Sugarplum and I'm one of King Licorice's generals."

"How many of you are there?"

"Only four, but with plenty enough power to stop you Candy Brigade goody-goods from allowing Princess Lolly to reclaim the throne!"

Then with that, another screeching sound followed, causing Crème to turn around. She saw a large white jawbreaker with a fuse attached to it. It was burning quickly as it flew towards her, so she got out of the way once again before it hit the ground and exploded, vaporizing into dust.

"The citizens of Candyland have lost faith in you girls, ever since you ran away from the battle to take the Princess to that other world. They see you as nothing but cowards!"

A screeching noise reached Crème's ears once more, causing her back away as a Jaw Grenade landed in front of her, which exploded like the first two.

"They hoped you would've defended them in that dark hour, but you didn't!"

Another Jaw Grenade was thrown, this time landing next to Crème's feet, causing her to lose balance once it exploded.

"They wait for your return every day, and then cry themselves to sleep in the evenings!"

The Jaw Grenade fell by Crème's Vanilla Foil, which made her use it to fling the Grenade away, causing it to explode near a pillar. This in turn caused the pillar to fall backwards, and lean on the one behind it. But to Crème's surprise, there were some gumdrops visible around the base and the top of the pillar behind the one that just fell. Once the latter pillar leaned on the former, the gumdrops exploded in the same manner as the Jaw Grenades, and fell down as well. A roaring _boom_ followed both pillars as they collapsed onto the floor.

"As you can see, the whole room is scattered with Gumdrop Explosives. If you touch the thing they're attached to, they're set to go off immediately, like that pillar for instance."

Crème, who was not willing to listen anymore, decided to look for the nearest exit. She carefully ran around the pillars, until she came to a pair of black doors made of licorice. However, upon touching them, the doors exploded, revealing the Gumdrop Explosives on the other side. This caused Crème to be thrown backwards, and land on her back. The hard tiled floor made her back ache, but she still got up, and was surprised to see the silhouette of a woman standing in front of the destroyed doors, which let the crimson light in the hallway behind her outline her figure. She was surprisingly short, with thin arms and legs, wearing an army helmet and bandoliers of Jaw Grenades strapped to her chest, which was well-endowed.

"Sugarplum," Crème muttered.

"You also can't leave this room either, not without activating the Gumdrop Explosives on the doors, anyway."

"Vanilla Petal Dance!" Crème shouted, causing her Vanilla Foil to send a blast of white petals at Sugarplum.

But with a few quick hand movements, Sugarplum managed to throw Gumdrop Explosives onto every single petal, causing them to explode before they reached her. In frustration, Crème charged at Sugarplum after getting a boost from her Vanilla Ribbon Drift, causing her to fly with the Foil extended in front of her. But Sugarplum only stepped out of the way, throwing a candy necklace at Crème. It caught around Crème's neck, and immediately emitted crimson sparks that made Crème twitch, causing her to fall midway through the door and land on the pile of splintered wood that were once doors, and roll into the hallway outside, lying flat on her face.

"I don't play fair, unlike you, and it usually works to my advantage," Sugarplum said, stepping over the pile of wood and into the hallway. She had thick purple hair, and wore a green short-sleeved army shirt, matching green shorts, socks, and shoes.

Then to her surprise, Crème stood up, and faced her. She was impaled with a lot of splinters in her arms and chest, but she managed to wobble towards Sugarplum, pulling the splinters out as she did so. Sugarplum didn't move, and folded her arms as Crème prepared to throw her foil at her. But before she could, her knees gave out, and found herself kneeling on the floor.

"That's a good girl," Sugarplum said.

End of Chapter 13


	14. Chapter 14: A Melee of Monsters

Chapter 14: A Melee of Monsters!

Pepper was in a dimly-lit hallway when she woke up. She still carried her Cinnamon Barrel Gun, but as far as she could tell, she was the only person there. Then suddenly, a pair of doors opened into a large gymnasium with red and white light illuminating the taffy and licorice-covered walls and the high fruit-rollup windows. Pepper realized she was lying down on the floor, and quickly got up as a figure appeared in the doorway. Judging by the slenderness, it was a tall woman with short red hair combed over the right side of her face wearing a burgundy red military uniform with white gloves.

"Welcome to the gym, Soldier!" the woman said sternly. "You have been brought here to be properly disciplined by **me**, Ginger Snaps, the leader of the four generals who protect King Licorice!"

"The lead general, huh?" Pepper said, reloading her Barrel Gun. "You sure climbed up the ranks fast, Mother."

This made Ginger Snaps flinch and walk backwards.

"I thought your memories were erased once you were in the human world," Ginger Snaps said cautiously.

"I did, but when I was awakened to my powers by Soldier Candy, I remembered everything, including you, who disowned me the minute I joined the Candy Brigade!" Pepper replied, following Ginger Snaps.

"I didn't want you to get hurt, Cinnamon, but you never listened to me!"

"That's because I was sick of you bossing me around all my life, and wanted to make decisions for myself!"

"But look where you ended up: living in a foreign world with no memories of your past for ten years with no way of coming back until now." Ginger Snaps stopped and folded her arms.

"So you kissed up to Lord Licorice and eventually became his general," Pepper put her finger on the gun's trigger. "The Princess is back, so your 'King' Licorice's reign is going to end real soon!"

"Are you sure about that? They're currently fighting as we speak."

Ginger's finger snapped, and not only did the door close behind Pepper, but a group of ten monsters emerged from hidden compartments underneath the taffy floors as well. Like the monsters in the forest, they were of different shapes and sizes, and made of different kinds of candy. While Pepper turned to face the oncoming monsters, Ginger Snaps took the hand of a monster made of gum, and it hurled her up onto a swinging bar where she could watch the fight from a distance. Pepper shot the monsters several times. The ones that were made of hard or soft candy either crumbled or dissolved but the elastic candy monsters didn't go down so easily. For those, Pepper had to use Cinnamon Fire Blast first in order to melt them, and then shot them with the Cinnamon Double Rounds twice. When she thought the fight was over, Ginger snapped her finger again, and more monsters appeared.

This went on two more times, and with each match, Pepper became more exhausted. Her Fire Blast was starting to grow dimmer, and the amount of bullets she loaded was getting lower. Meanwhile, Ginger Snaps became more confident and even laughed a few times, but there was something at the back of her mind that tried to make her feel guilty. But she suppressed it, and continued to summon more monsters. Feeling overwhelmed, Pepper attempted to leave the circle of monsters and run to another side of the gym, but there she was met by more monsters coming out of similar compartments.

"This whole gym has monsters under every floorboard, Cinnamon," Ginger Snaps said. "So if you were trying to escape, your efforts are worthless."

"I wasn't trying to escape, Mother," Pepper said, loading her Barrel Gun with the last two bullets. "I was trying to get a clear shot at you!"

She pointed the gun at Ginger Snaps and fired. Though Pepper did not fatally wound her, she did manage to graze both of Ginger Snaps' hands, which in turn tore the gloves she wore. As she fell from the swinging bar, none of the monsters came to her aid as she fell flat on her back on the hard taffy floor. When she tried to snap her fingers weakly, no more monsters appeared out of the compartments, and the monsters that were currently standing did not move. Instead, they charged at Ginger Snaps with rapid speed, and grabbed her arms and legs, which they attempted to tear from her body. Ginger Snaps cried out in pain, making Pepper realize that despite what she had done, she was still her true mother, and so she used her Cinnamon Fire Blast to distract the monsters as they charged at her. But after some quick maneuvering, Pepper managed to grab the weakened Ginger Snaps and ran towards the door that they had come through.

Realizing that it was still locked, Pepper used the last Cinnamon Fire Blast to melt the door handles, which were made of taffy, and kicked the door outwards into the dimly lit hallway. She knew that she would be blind here, but it was better than being torn apart by the monsters, which had recovered and were now heading towards them. After entering the hallway, Pepper put Ginger Snaps down, closed the doors on the monsters' faces, and sealed them with the melted taffy on the other side with her hands. While this was going on, Ginger Snaps managed to get up, and pulled a candy necklace out of her pocket. With weak hands, she quietly snuck up on Pepper, who was attempting to find some way to light up the hallway more, and placed the necklace around Pepper's neck. The crimson sparks shook Pepper violently, and then she fell to the floor unconscious.

"You're a worthy warrior of the Candy Brigade, Cinnamon," Ginger Snaps sighed, using her shoulder to pull a hidden switch, which illuminated the hallway they were in. "But a trusting fool such as you could not have foreseen that I am trained to fight in the dark as well as in the light."

End of Chapter 14


	15. Chapter 15: Mint and Frosting

Chapter 15: Refreshing Mint! Bitter Frosting!

When Bubblegum made the gas explode, Aroma took her Mint Spear and pointed it at herself. By doing this, she was able to temporarily freeze herself in order to prevent the gas from entering her nostrils. By the time the ice broke, the gas had subsided and none of the other girls were there, including Bubblegum. So after an initial episode of stiffness, Aroma ran down the hallway and continuously called their names. She was only met by a faint echo.

Then she heard the sound of clicking heels. Immediately, she ran towards them, and the sound began to move further away. She managed to follow it, and eventually ended up in a wide circular room with a large ice-rink inside bordered by four tall pillars. On the opposite side stood a series of chairs and benches littered with frozen ice-skates, which were dominated by a large throne with three seats. One of which was occupied by the woman Aroma recognized during the battle in the Gumdrop Forest.

"Frostine," Aroma said, though she hesitated to say it.

"I never expected you to return home," Frostine said, standing up. "After all, it has been ten years, sister."

"But it's only been three years on earth," Aroma muttered. Now it made sense why she remembered this woman.

"Time passes more quickly in this realm than on earth, and since then, I've grown to despise you."

"Why? We've never had any quarrel before I left."

"Don't be a fool, Mint," Frostine turned away, and picked up the staff with the snowflake on it. "You knew that I didn't approve of the Princess the minute she was born, because if it weren't for her, **I **would've been the heir to the throne!"

In a split second, Frostine pointed her staff at Aroma, and fired a blast of white light encrusted with snowflakes. Aroma managed to dodge it, and hid behind one of the pillars. Frostine redirected her staff at it, causing frost to scatter up and down the length of the pillar, which in turn made it completely shatter. Aroma was thrown back, and ran as the next blast nearly hit her. Irritated, Frostine then aimed her staff at the floor, turning the taffy flooring into frosting, which made Aroma slow down, due its thick gooey texture.

"It looks like you haven't changed much since you joined the Candy Brigade," Frostine noted, aiming the staff at Aroma. "Then again, you were always the frightened one."

But before the next blast hit her, Aroma managed to pull the spear out in front of her and say, "Mint Ice Blizzard!"

She froze the blast, causing it shatter.

"You've…never done that before," Frostine said in disbelief.

"I'm not the same girl you knew!" Aroma said, stepping onto the ice-rink. "I'm now a full-fledged Soldier who has been through a lot these past few months, and isn't going to go down so easily!"

Frostine seemed taken aback by these bold statements, but then she frowned.

"So…_that's_ how it's going to be, then."

She fired at the ice-rink, which broke into many fragments. Before Aroma fell in, she pointed her spear at the water underneath, and created a platform of ice with her Mint Ice Blizzard. Frostine fired at Aroma, but Aroma dodged the blast and made another ice platform where she landed. This continued a few more rounds until Aroma managed to land on the other side of the former ice-rink, but then her feet were frozen solid upon impact. She fell face-first onto the floor, but quickly rolled out of the way of the following blast. Hiding behind another pillar, she pointed the spear at her frozen feet, and said, "Mint Breath Refreshment!"

The ice on her feet immediately broke, just as Frostine caused the pillar she was hiding behind to shatter like the first one. To avoid the frost, Aroma stood up and backed away; she ended up getting a good aim at Frostine after the pillar was removed. Without hesitation, she fired at Frostine, but Frostine counteracted by spinning her staff in a counterclockwise direction, causing the icy blast of wind to scatter in different directions, freezing any surface it contacted except Frostine herself. Frustrated, Aroma ran towards the next pillar, but Frostine shattered that before she could hide behind it. So she ran to the next one, and that got frozen too.

"There's nowhere to hide anymore," Frostine smirked, pointing the staff at Aroma once again. "Now face me like the so-called Soldier you are!"

Aroma suddenly started to giggle.

"What's so funny? Have you finally realized how hopeless your situation is?"

"No," Aroma answered, tracing her steps to the door behind her. "You're the one whose situation is hopeless!"

A faint rumble followed Aroma's words, and then the ceiling above the ice-rink started to sink. Frostine looked up in horror, and immediately used her staff to freeze the collapsing ceiling. While she was distracted, Aroma ran out of the room and was about to close the door when something forced her to look back. Despite Frostine's efforts, the ceiling was still sinking and even started to crack in some places.

"Frostine! I know you're my enemy!" Aroma called. "But you're still my sister! Come with me if you want to live!"

Just then, an unseen hand placed a candy necklace on Aroma, causing her to collapse from the shock of crimson sparks that followed. As for Frostine, she did not hear Aroma, and noticed that her beam was becoming weaker and she started to find it difficult to stand due to her own growing physical weakness. But the sudden cry that Aroma gave out drew her attention, and she saw Meringue standing over Aroma, with Bubblegum standing behind her. As parts of the ceiling fell, Meringue then stepped into the room and shouted, "Lemon Swirl Shield!"

The lemon-shaped energy shield managed to prevent Meringue from getting hurt as she leaped over the ice-rink, grabbed Frostine before the last of her energy gave out, and made it back through the door as the ceiling completely fell onto the ice-rink, causing the floor to crack, the ice to crack, and the water to rise. While Bubblegum closed the door, Meringue let go of Frostine and picked up the unconscious Aroma.

After a brief sigh, Bubblegum said, "You know King Licorice isn't going to be pleased when he learns about the amount of damage done to the ice-rink."

"Does that really matter?!" Frostine yelled, causing Aroma's eyes to flicker open. "I could've died in there!"

"It looks like your servant has awoken," Bubblegum pointed at Aroma, which got Frostine's attention. "Now we must be going. King Licorice is waiting for us."

"I know," Frostine said, looking at Aroma as Bubblegum and Meringue walked away. "Forgive me, Mint, but once this is over, you'll be ruling at my side once I take my rightful place as the Queen of Candyland!"

End of Chapter 15


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